What I've Done
by LaueHime
Summary: Naruto mysteriously gets sick as Team 7 is out on a mission. His team might realize that the mystery isn't such a mystery after all but what can they do about it? Can they figure out what's wrong before it's too late?
1. A mission of survival

**A/N:**

**Hello everyone! I'm updating this story, correcting and all, so I hope new readers will enjoy it !**

**Summary: Naruto mysteriously starts to be sick as Team 7 is out on a mission. His team might realize that the mystery isn't such a mystery after all but what can they do about it? Can they figure out what's wrong before it's too late?**

**Disclaimer: I own this computer and, well... the ten fingers I use to type this story, as well as the idea for it but the rest all belongs to the amazing Masashi Kishimoto! **

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Naruto was quietly having breakfast in his sunlit kitchen when someone knocked at his door. He looked up from the cup of instant ramen he'd been eating from and frowned. Who could it be at this time in the morning? He slowly walked towards the door and cracked it open to see a smiling pink-haired kunoichi.

"Hey Sakura! What's up?" he greeted. She put her hands on her hips, her grin fading away.

"Lady Tsunade wants to see us in her office. Hurry up and get ready!" she urged. He nodded and picked up his ninja pouch before heading out with his teammate.

They walked silently through the busy streets of Konoha and all the way up to the Hokage tower. As soon as they reached the main hall, a woman sitting by the entrance desk waved for them to go upstairs as the Hokage was already waiting for them. They got in the room and Naruto saw that his other teammate and his sensei were already there, seemingly waiting for him to arrive.

The raven-haired kid sighed in despair, hands still in his pocket. "It was about time you arrived. I thought I'd be rooting here" he snarled. Naruto glared at him but stopped himself from getting into the other's game. At the same time, his sensei stood up and motioned for him to get closer.

"Now, now, Sasuke. There is no need to get all worked up for such a thing. Come on over Naruto. Sakura." the silver-haired jounin invited. The two got closer to the Hokage's desk.

Tsunade had been sitting back and yawning from a long night, listening closely to everything that was said without butting in. When he saw her, Naruto gave her a wide grin. "Hey Baa-chan! Seems to me like you've had a bit of a rough night!" he exclaimed. She frowned, annoyed.

"Shut up, brat! I stayed up working on the file I'm about to give you, so if you don't want to spend the day whipping crap in some D-rank mission, you better quiet down!" she threatened. Sasuke smirked in amusement and Naruto's grin faded a bit while he shut it up. She nodded her thanks and cleared her throat to proceed.

"What I'm giving you today is a C-rank mission. I've got a man who is waiting to be dismissed from the hospital at some time this morning. I want you guys to escort him back to the land of rice patties. He was hurt when a bunch of sound ninjas attacked the village and took some prisoners. As we suspected they were working for Orochimaru. We kept the man here for interrogation. Unfortunately, he couldn't be of any help and now that he is all stitched up, it would be about time for him to get home. It's a simple escort which would have been D-ranked if the attack hadn't come from Orochimaru's men. It should be safe though, so you guys can go ahead", she explained. Naruto dropped his shoulders in despair.

"Simple C-rank? You kidding me, granny?" he asked in hope she was joking and would just land him something harder.

"Remember my early proposition? It applies if you complain about the job! I need someone to watch over the kids in kindergarten, would you do that instead?" she snapped. Naruto sighed and waved both hands in the air above his head. "No way! I'll stop complaining, I promise, but don't send me there!" he pleaded. She smiled and choked a fierce giggle. "That's what I thought" she muttered.

A couple of hours later, Team 7 started to gather at Konoha's main gate. Sakura was the first one to show up as always. When Sasuke arrived second, she enjoyed the moment to get closer to him.

"Hey Sasuke! Now that we are alone, just you and I, would you care to join me for dinner after we finish our mission? Or a movie maybe, whatever you want!" she blushed. Sasuke shrugged with an exasperated look in his eyes.

"Sakura, we've been there before! I told you I wouldn't go out on a date with you!" he explained. Sakura's lips dropped into a shaking pout.

"But why Sasuke, why don't you want to hang out with me?" she asked. He pressed a hand to his forehead as if her cries were giving him a headache. "Because," he started, "you're my teammate. Nothing less, nothing more" he finished. Her stance went off as she just sadly stared at the floor. A couple of minutes later, their sensei came towards them with a small and fragile looking foreign civilian. His hairs were grayish and several lines in his face testified of the long years he had seen and the poise he got from living them. He offered Sakura a shy smile when their eyes met and introduced himself as Tomo-san.

Kakashi put his hands on his hips while looking all around himself. Of course, there was no sign of the blond ninja. He sighed and put his hands in his pocket. "Now, where is Naruto?" he asked the others. Sasuke shrugged.

"He's just fatefully being a pain. Nothing new…" he complained. Sakura nodded at Sasuke's comment and Kakashi closed his eye. Just before opening them, he heard the loud and obnoxious voice that could only belong to one person.

"Hey you guys! Sorry I'm late!" he apologized as he ran by their side. Sakura was raging in her corner. "Couldn't you ever be on time? Jeez, Naruto, you're so unreliable!" she said through gritted teeth. He flung his arms behind his head and smiled to hide the fact that he was hurt by Sakura's words. The man they were supposed to walk home took a scrutinizing look at the newcomer. With such a flashy orange suit, they were sure to be given away if they were ever followed by rogue shinobi.

"Is this guy coming along?" Tomo asked. Kakashi nodded. "Naruto is part of the team, so yes he is coming along!" he spoke. Naruto gave his sensei a thankful look.

"Whatever, just don't get in the way, kid!" the man growled. Naruto dropped his hands to his sides as they were curling into fists. "What's that supposed to mean, old man! If I was given this mission, it's because granny Tsunade believes in me! I don't need some old fart telling me what I can and cannot do! If you want to, you can just go ahead on your own and get your ass kicked just to see if I care!" he spat, his fists up. Sakura let out an annoyed growl before landing a powerful fist on the back of Naruto's head, causing him to bite the inside of his cheek from the impact. "Shut up, Baka! This is our client you're talking to! Now stop being such an idiot and show him he can trust you, because honestly, as lousy as you are, it's no doubt he's fearing for his life! Make us proud for once and stop being such an annoying brat!" she yelled.

A metallic taste filled his mouth and rounded the corners of his mouth. "Shit" he muttered as he spat out the blood. "Naruto are you okay?" Kakashi asked worried, seeing his student waver on his feet, eyes dazed. It took two seconds and the feeling vanished and Naruto started being Naruto again.

"DARN IT SAKURA-CHAN, THAT HURTS!" he shouted, running a hand behind his head and turning his head to pout. Kakashi looked in disbelief and despair. _'Just what I'd expect from the number one unpredictable hyperactive ninja'._

Sakura crossed her arms and looked away while Sasuke just rolled his eyes. "Can we go now?" he grunted. "We've wasted enough time already" he pointed out. "Right" Kakashi replied and gave the signal for everyone to follow him. Tomo stayed quiet and followed the team that was to lead him back to his village.

They walked for a long while without talking. Naruto and Sakura still wouldn't look at each other and Sasuke led the way as he seemed to be thinking he was the only one who was mature enough to deserve to lead. Kakashi stayed behind with their client while keeping an eye out, just in case.

Some time later, Kakashi halted and cleared his throat. "Alright guys, we're going to take a break here" he announced. Naruto spun over in disbelief. "What, already?" he asked, obviously disagreeing. "Some of us need a break" Kakashi insisted, motioning to Tomo who was already down and cooling himself down with a bottle of water. "Lazy old man…" Naruto groaned as he put his bag down and jumped on a higher branch to rest.

Sakura walked over to Tomo and engaged a conversation with him. "Are you okay, sir?" she asked calmly. He offered her another shy smile and nodded. "Yeah. Just tired" he admitted. Naruto rolled his eyes and leant against the trunk, closing his eyes.

"Well if you need anything, you can just ask" she offered. He nodded thankfully. "Arigatou, Sakura-chan" he replied.

Kakashi joined Sasuke who seemed a little tensed. "Hey Sasuke? Are you okay?" the jounin asked. Just as Sasuke opened his mouth to reply, a kunai knife flew out of nowhere, aiming for the silver-haired teacher. Kakashi only had time to see it before it embed into his chest. Sasuke gasped at the sight before being blinded by a cloud of smoke.

As it cleared, the Uchiha took sight of a sitting log with a kunai plunged into it. '_Substitution_' he thought, proud that his sensei reacted in time. Kakashi reappeared from the ground to guard in front of Tomo. "Sakura, you watch him!" he ordered. Sakura nodded and replaced her sensei, whom was already onto something else. This time, two kunai flew out of different spots. Sasuke gave himself a push and stopped one with his own kunai. He then took a rebound on his hands and pushed himself into the air to stop the other one that was going right at Sakura.

She blushed when her crush sent the kunai flying away from her. He had saved her. She dozed off for a second before putting her mind right back into the business. As her senses came back, she noticed her blond friend wasn't around. She looked all over to finally see him on the tree branch he'd been sitting on earlier. He apparently had fallen asleep.

Two ninjas came out of the bushes and Kakashi jumped onto one of them, leaving the other to Sasuke. The latter was now fighting a sound ninja in a close taijutsu combat. Sakura couldn't keep her eyes off him. The kid managed to block a punch aimed at his face, but wasn't fast enough to block the kick in the stomach that came right after. He landed next to Sakura and looked up to her, Sharingan activated.

"Where's the dobe when we need him" he grunted. Sakura motioned towards the tree. Sasuke looked up and saw the sleeping form. "Naruto! What the hell are you doing?" he shouted but the other one didn't budge. Sakura came forward to help but Sasuke pushed her back. "You stay with Tomo-san!" he spat. She took a few steps back and pulled her guard up.

Sasuke ran for the other shinobi again. He was ready to not let himself be hit this time. He kicked the ninja in the stomach, making him lose his balance. As he wavered, Sasuke plunged underneath him and gave a kick upwards, in a fashion Lee would use. The sound ninja flew in the air as Sasuke went down on him and kicked him hard. The ninja fell to the ground with a thud. As Sasuke fell elegantly next to him, his opponent rose back to his feet and performed a wind jutsu. Sasuke ran away from it to save himself. He jumped on a higher branch and took a deep breath. The other ninja was again preparing his wind jutsu. As he set it on, Sasuke inhaled deeply and spat a humongous fireball, a popular jutsu from his deceased clan. As the wind caught into his fire, it fed it and the flames burned bigger and brighter. The sound ninja's eyes widened as he was caught in the flames and pushed away. Sasuke went back down and contemplated the scene.

Kakashi was fighting the other ninja. His headband was pulled up, displaying his Sharingan eye. His opponent seemed stronger than the one Sasuke had to face. The shinobi pulled back and performed a quick set of hand signs. Suddenly, a dragon shaped fire appeared. Kakashi smiled under his mask and dodged the attack. He performed his own hand signs, too quick for Sasuke to see. This time, a dragon shaped whirlpool appeared and drowned the fire dragon. The sound ninja gasped in horror and ran away, this time, towards Sakura.

She put her guard up but the man was faster and punched her in the gut. She fell down, gasping for breath. Sasuke grabbed the ninja and pulled him off her. He pinned him to the ground with taijutsu and raised his right hand fiercely. "Chidori!" he screamed as the lightning bout ran through the other man, knocking him out cold.

Sasuke took Sakura aside and sat her down. "Are you okay?" he asked. She was panting heavily but managed to offer him a nod. He ran a hand on her back while she sought for air. Kakashi was busy studying the man Sasuke had knocked out with his Chidori. He was most definitely a sound ninja. The jounin thought he might be after Tomo. The latter breathed a sigh of relief after seeing such a combat. He pulled himself up when something grabbed him by behind.

The first sound ninja had reappeared and had taken Tomo by surprise. The old man gasped and closed his eyes, knowing it would be the end of him. The shinobi pressed a kunai against the old man's throat while staring at the others.

"If you move, gramps dies!" he threatened. Cold sweat ran down the old man's brow. He was making up his last wish. Kakashi was tensed up and Sakura was looking in disbelief. She had failed.

"Leave him alone" a voice called out. They all turned to see Naruto getting down from the tree he'd been sleeping in. The rogue ninja started to laugh coldly and pressed the tip of the knife on the man's neck, causing some blood to trickle down.

"Fine then" Naruto exhaled. He placed his hands in a familiar pattern. "Kage bunshin no jutsu" he called as three other Naruto appeared. Kakashi's eyes grew wide open. "No, Naruto!" he screamed. The clones ran towards the ninja and he was about to plunge the kunai deeper when he felt something cold against his own neck. He looked aside to see a fifth Naruto holding a kunai to his own neck.

"How did you…?" he started when he noticed the whole in the ground behind him.

"My clones were just a distraction so I could sneak behind you" he said. The ninja gulped in fear, and he was right to be scared. Naruto grabbed his jacket and shoved him to the ground behind him. The four clones then ran up to the opponent and chained up to kick him into the air. The real Naruto leaped up and kicked the man on the head. His team could only watch in admiration for the boy's actions.

As the man hit the ground, he looked up to see Naruto rushing towards him with a massive ball of concentrated chakra in his hand. "Rasengan!" he yelled as he thrust the jutsu in the man's stomach. The hit was so powerful that it dug the man's flesh, causing him intense pain. The ninja gave one last gasp before succumbing to the darkness.

Naruto got a hold of Tomo and handed him over to Kakashi. His sensei checked the neck wound but found it was really just a scratch. Naruto sat on a rock and patted his forehead with a frown. Sasuke noticed the gesture.

He and Sakura were looking at Naruto with eyes wide in shock. When Tomo regained enough self control to stop shaking, he looked over at the blond with deep eyes. "You saved me there, kid. Sorry for underestimating you and thank you for not letting me die!" he said sincerely. Naruto shrugged it off as if it were nothing. Kakashi furrowed his eyes to look at his student.

"It was a nice plan you pulled off, Naruto. Thanks to you, Tomo here is alive. Nice work!" he congratulated. Naruto shrugged once more with a slight down on energy. Something the others didn't quite notice yet. "I'm not the idiot everyone thinks I am…" he mumbled. Sakura bowed her head to that. "You did good, Naruto" she finally admitted, frustrated inside that he had succeeded where she had not. He nodded in response. "Maybe you should sleep more often if that makes you useful in the end" Sasuke growled, his voice full of contempt. Naruto suddenly found the ground very interesting. He never wanted to fall asleep, it just sort of happened.

As soon as they were all back on their feet, they pursued their road towards the land of rice patties. Kakashi was watching their backs a lot more now that their mission had gone from a C-ranked to a B-ranked and maybe even an A-ranked. He thought of the events for a second and turned to a dozing off Tomo.

"Excuse me, Tomo-san, but do you know why these sound ninjas were attacking you?" he asked. The man looked at him and didn't bother correcting Kakashi because he knew the ninjas really were after _him_.

"I haven't a clue to be honest. I have never in my life dealt with anything related to the shinobi world. I stayed away from it as much as I could. When they attacked our village, they took some people with them. Rumor has it that Orochimaru uses these people for experiences. That is all I know and I can only guess that these sound ninjas knew I had been in Konoha for a while and they must have thought I turned them in" he explained. Kakashi nodded.

"That must be it. You are sure that no one is purposely after you?" he asked. The man nodded. "I swear I have nothing to do with ninjas" he claimed. Kakashi nodded, reassured. "I'm asking you this because we, Team 7, have been assigned on an escort mission before. It was supposed to be safe when we were attacked by several shinobi who were actually chasing the guy we were guarding and the guy knew about it but lied to us because he couldn't afford to get more security. It could have been fatal to us if those guys here hadn't been one of the best teams I have ever taught" he told. Sakura looked up at the statement.

"Is that true, Kakashi-sensei?" she asked with sparkles of hope in her eyes. He grinned, his one smiling eye visible. "Of course it is, Sakura. You guys are well-advanced for genin your age! The one I'm mostly proud of right now is you, Naruto!" the jounin exclaimed. The blond kid turned his head slowly.

"Me?" he asked, his voice hoarse. His sensei's grin grew larger under his mask, if that were possible. "Yes, you! I mean, don't get me wrong, Sasuke and Sakura have always been incredibly talented students and proved me everyday that their hard work was worth the shot. But you, Naruto, it's something else! I must admit I doubted you when I first saw you and I was left pondering after some of our first missions but you never gave up hope and never stopped working. I'm watching you these days and I'm confident that you might become even stronger than me!" he admitted cheerfully. Naruto smiled at the praise but it soon died off as he reached a hand to his forehead. Sasuke noticed it was the same pattern as he had seen before.

"Naruto, are you okay?" he asked his teammate. Naruto spun around to face him and gave him a wide grin. "Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" he asked. Sasuke frowned. "I noticed you were holding your head after we fought the sound ninja but I didn't give it any further thought before I saw you do it again a few seconds ago" he stated. Naruto sighed but his smile didn't fade. "I'm okay. It's just a headache I've been carrying around for a while" he confessed. Sasuke frowned but let it go. Kakashi studied his student.

"You do look a little pale, though" he pointed out. Naruto waved him off with his hand. "No need to worry, sensei. I'm fine!" he cheered, sticking his thumb up. They finally nodded and let it go. They continued like this for another while before the light started to dim.

"Alright everyone! We'll camp here for the night. We'll get to the land of rice patties tomorrow morning" Kakashi announced. Sasuke activated his Sharingan and scanned the spot. "There's no one around, although I do suggest that we take turns to guard up tonight" he stated. Kakashi nodded. While scanning, Sasuke had noticed a nice spot to install the tents. They started setting them up. Kakashi observed Naruto from the corner of his eye. He started peeking when the boy didn't even complain when they stopped early for the night. Naruto was always the one saying that he wasn't tired and that he could still go on. The kid had paled, if possible. From time to time, he would clutch to his head and his eyes were dim and unfocused.

Kakashi shuddered in worry and put his hand over Naruto's as the latter was – too slowly – pulling out his camping material. The blond shivered at the cool touch and looked up to his teacher. "Sensseii…" he slurred. Kakashi frowned from the heat radiating from the kid's hand. "Naruto, you're burning…" Kakashi went to say but he stopped when he saw his pupil's eyes roll back into his head. Naruto shivered before giving into the embracing darkness.

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**That's it for now. ****Anything I can do to make it better, just anything you want to say, just press the button and make me happy! Thanks for reading! **

**THwriter**


	2. Something went wrong

**A/N : Hey guys, ****Iwant to say a huge thank you to those who sent amazing reviews my way! They were really appreciated and gave me a kick to update this story. Now here's the new chapter! Enjoy!**

**Xxxx**

A cold breeze blew into the leaves, making a sinister melody linger into the atmosphere. Kakashi shivered as he saw his student's eyes turn to face him - his skin pearly white - before he stumbled on invisible resistance. Luckily, the jounin was fast enough to catch the kid before he hit the ground and hurt himself more. The silver-haired ninja lowered the limp body to the ground and turned him over to face him.

"Naruto? Naruto!" he called, nervously patting the youngster's cheek. His two other students looked up from their spots to see what caused the racket. Their eyes stopped on their sensei kneeling next to a fallen form that had once been their friend's.

"Naruto, wake up! Answer me!" Kakashi begged, still taping the kid's cheek. Sasuke quickly arrived at his sides, followed closely by Sakura. They looked nervously at their sick-looking teammate.

"What happened?" Sasuke asked on a monotone, though a slight hint of worry – only noticeable for someone who could read him through – pierced his voice. Sakura looked over the scene, her worry meter skyrocketing. Her hands shook nervously and she had to whip them on her uniform since her palms were getting sweaty with her increasingly racing heartbeat.

"He passed out" Kakashi replied firmly, hiding his nervousness away. He was still patting the kid all over to try to find what was causing this situation. Tomo slowly made his way to where the others were gathered.

"Why, what's wrong with him?" Sakura cried out, her nerves breaking and the worry-ball that was gathering in her throat finally exploding. Kakashi shook his head while touching the burning skin on the blonde's face. "I honestly don't know. He's been off for a while, from what I've noticed" he admitted. Sasuke frowned, kneeling next to his sensei.

"He's complained about headaches earlier" he confessed, his tone still stoic, as he tried to keep is composure in front of people. Kakashi looked at him with his one visible eye. "Why didn't you say anything about it?" he inquired, disappointment readable in his voice. Sasuke shrugged, but felt a dark cloud of responsibility wash over him.

"I didn't think it meant anything up until now" he replied shyly. They fell silent as they all stared at the fallen teen who still hadn't given any sign of awareness. Tomo cleared his throat and spoke for the first time.

"He must be either sick or injured" he proposed. Kakashi spun around to face him.

"Naruto is hardly ever sick and I didn't see him get injured in the rumble. He slept half-way through it!" he exclaimed, panic somehow starting to stain his speech. Sasuke saw the shadow of a memory cross his mind but he chased it away. They all jumped in excitation when they heard a muffled groan. Kakashi turned to the stirring blonde with wide eyes.

"Naruto?" he asked softly. For a moment, the kid seemed lost and confused. It took some time for Naruto to see clearly through the blur and when he did, he noticed all eyes scanning him down. "Wh…What?" he stuttered but didn't find the strength in himself to finish his sentence. Kakashi placed both hands on his shoulders to ensure him security and stability.

"Naruto, you just passed out. Do you know what happened?" the jounin asked. Naruto stared at him with dazed eyes. "Don't know but… head hurts" he panted, clutching his forehead with a weak hand. Kakashi frowned and seemed thoughtful for a second.

"Maybe we should get you back to Konoha so you can get checked by a doctor" Kakashi announced. A pout appeared on the kid's face. He started moving, trying to pull himself up and ready to defend his point. Naruto hated hospitals and he wasn't going to let someone go before the mission was over. In the name of shinobi, he was going to finish this, good health or not.

"I'm fine! Just a bit dizzy, that's all…" he complained. He then went to sit up but failed miserably as his sensei pulled him down to rest on the cool forest floor. The boy wanted to protest but his muscles gave away and he was laid limply to the ground.

"Naruto, you look awful! You should really go back to Konoha" Sasuke pressed, trying to show some authority towards his friend but Kakashi felt it was more out of concern that the Uchiha was doing it. Naruto shook his head violently but stopped when his vision blurred and his stomach threatened to give away. He grabbed his spinning head and tried to stop the motion before he got sick.

"Stop trying to be so proud and listen to Sasuke-kun for once" Sakura snarled, looking at her grimacing friend. When is vision got back to something acceptable, Naruto shot Sakura a look of hurt that she wished she hadn't seen coming from the lousy but bubbly kid of Konoha.

"You're teammates are right, if you need medical attention, you should rush home instead of staying around for me. You saved my life once, letting you go is the least I can do!" Tomo said, trying to be brave and to convince the kid to get some help. Naruto sighed and desperately looked down at his hands, considering the proposition. It took him some time where he seemed to be thinking this through.

"What are you guys going to do?" he finally asked. Kakashi looked at all his team members before he ultimately replied. "I'll get you back to Konoha tonight while Sasuke and Sakura stay here to guard our protégé" he explained. The two teenagers looked at each other uncertainly. Naruto seemed hesitant. "What if they get attacked and you are not there to help them?" he asked. Sakura gulped imagining another scene like the previous afternoon but without Kakashi and Naruto to help them. Sasuke wasn't even thinking about himself, all he saw was that his friend needed help as soon as possible.

"What if we keep you here and your state worsens over the night? What if we let you go on your own and find something happened to you on our way back home? It's a risk we need to take" Sasuke blurted out. Naruto was shocked to feel that Sasuke somehow cared about him enough to risk being attacked just to get him safe. He finally gave up and accepted to be brought back home. He said his goodbyes to Tomo-san and promised to take care of himself to Sasuke and Sakura. He and Kakashi then left to head home.

Only running a couple of miles left Naruto panting. Kakashi offered a hand but the blonde shinobi, stubborn as he was, insisted that he could walk himself home. His sensei didn't push the matter but he kept a close eye on his pupil.

Naruto tried to focus on the road to stop his vision from dancing in front of his eyes. He could hardly make out his surroundings. They were turning into halos of light and he was getting so dizzy that he thought gravity was just waiting to drag him down. As Kakashi watched him from afar, he did his best to stay up straight but his muscles gave away and he tripped on a root. The jounin was fast to catch him and steady him up.

"You don't have to push yourself, Naruto. You've done enough already! You don't need to prove anything to me" he said on a new tone, one calm and reassuring. Naruto shrugged in surrender and let Kakashi take him on his back, slumping like a boneless heap. They started back on their way home. Every once in a while, the silver-haired man peeked over his shoulder to keep track on his student's state. Naruto's head lolled on his carrier's shoulder. His eyes were half-closed and Kakashi could feel the weight on his back pile up as his student slumped more with every second. The jounin lent an ear to the boy's breathings only to realize they were mild and shallow. He turned his head to a sleeping form. Once again, Naruto had given into the darkness.

Xxxxx

Sasuke thought he heard a cracking noise in the distance. He activated his sharingan only to find that he was the only living soul outside the tent. Sakura and Tomo were asleep inside while he took the first round of guard. Dozing off, he started thinking back on what happened during the day. He remembered the way Naruto looked odd and kept clutching his forehead with a distant look. He knew it wasn't like the hyperactive kid he knew to fall asleep on the battlefield. The blonde he got to know would've jumped right into the fight and hit before thinking. Obviously, his teammate had learnt something since the beginning of their genin training. Even though he didn't want to admit it to himself, his friend had become strong. As much as he tried to hide it, Sasuke was worried about Naruto and he couldn't stop thinking about the possibilities if anything went wrong.

He snapped out of his thoughts when cool fingers brushed his arm. He turned to face Sakura, all dressed up in her night gown. "Do you mind if I join you?" she asked gently. Sasuke shook his head lightly. The kunoichi sat next to him with a sigh.

"With what happened, there is no way I could sleep" she finally let out. Sasuke turned to study her. He noticed her deep features as if she was beating herself up over something. She seemed tensed but he did not wonder any further for he felt the same way. They stayed silent for a moment.

"What do you think is wrong with Naruto?" Sakura finally asked, breaking the silence. Sasuke looked at his feet and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know" he mumbled. Her eyes met the ground and they fell silent again.

Xxxxx

_The area was dark and damp. A nauseous stench filled the thin space. __His heavy feet grazed the bottom of what felt like a pond. But he wasn't out in the open. He was caved in. The walls reeked of decay. A burning heat brought salty water to his dried skin. _

_The more he went forward, the more he suffocated in the thick atmosphere. Echoes of a dark laughter rang through his ears. He couldn't make out his surroundings, only the sickening smell of sewers. Water splashed his burning body as he stumbled forward to try and find his way. The laughter still echoed loudly in his head, making him clutch it and bend forward towards the ground._

Kakashi flung the limp body hardly fast enough to avoid the flood. Naruto curled up on himself and started heaving. Kakashi sat next to him and patted his back until he was done emptying his stomach. In the mean time, he held him tight so the kid wouldn't fall right into his own mess. When he was sure the blonde wasn't going to be sick again, he pulled his torso closer to his own chest and held him.

"Hey, Naruto, what's wrong?" Kakashi asked, not even bothering to hide the worry in his tone. Naruto hardly flinched. His eyes barely turned towards the man who spoke to him. He seemed to be in another space completely.

"Naruto, can you hear me?" the silver-haired pushed. The kid softly nodded and turned towards him before his face cringed in pain.

"…Hurts…" he breathed. Kakashi checked him all over to see if he had any wounds but didn't find any. "Where does it hurt, Naruto?" he pressed. Naruto closed his eyes, his breath ragged with pain.

"Every...where" he stuttered. Kakashi pulled him closer to soothe the shivering that had taken place in the tinny body he was holding. "Listen Naruto, I will get you some medical help as soon as I can. Meanwhile, I need you to do one thing for me!" he explained. Naruto looked up to his sensei before this one last spoke : "Please Naruto, stay awake for me!" he begged. The kid gave him a faint nod and that was Kakashi's cue to grab his student and run again.

Xxxx

Sasuke and Sakura were still sitting up in silence when some shuffling noise came out from the tent. Finally, Tomo came out with small eyes that told the teenagers he hadn't been able to sleep either. "Can I join you two?" he asked shyly. Sakura nodded softly and the old man gave her her nod back to thank her through the gesture. He sat down near the little fire they had put up shortly after Kakashi left with Naruto. Tomo stretched his hands out to get some heat. He rubbed his palms together and turned to the kids.

"How long have you guys been fighting together?" he wondered. Sasuke and Sakura looked at each other sadly. Sakura looked up and Sasuke stared at the fire blankly.

"We were first put in the same team right after we graduated from the academy. We've been together ever since" she replied. Tomo could hear from her tired voice that many things had happened in that short period of time. The old man considered and finally asked questions he wanted answers to.

"Are you and Naruto close?" he asked to the two, not one in particular. Sakura swallowed hard and Sasuke didn't bother to look up. Sakura seemed to be the one who was going to reply but words were missing.

"Well…" she said, "…Naruto and I are different. He can be so annoying, it's difficult sometimes" she confessed. Sasuke kept looking down, paying no attention to the two others.

"Why is he that different? Why does it make it difficult to stand around him?" Tomo asked. Sakura thought for a second of all the things that annoyed her in Naruto.

"Naruto always needs to be the center of attention. The way he dresses is an eyesore and he always has to be loud and to have the last word. It's like he needs to prove that he is good when, in fact, all he does is screw up the plans because he is too impulsive. He doesn't ever think!" she explained. For once, she realized she didn't scream any of Naruto's flaws out and it didn't make her angry. She just wished he wasn't like that all the time. Tomo nodded to every statement without flinching.

"Naruto grew up without parents and friends. He's always been all alone" Sasuke said in a murmur. His eyes had turned into mirrors of his past. _Just like me_, he thought with a sudden sense of sympathy for his friend. Tomo nodded with that same sense of sympathy, although he wasn't trying to hide it, unlike Sasuke.

"Naruto seems to have never had anyone who cared for him" Tomo resumed. "He wants attention and approval because he needs to feel accepted for once in his life. Have you guys ever thought of that?" the man asked the two ninjas. "…and don't you guys think that, of all the people, you two are the ones he would want the attention from! You guys are probably the best friends he can hope to have. The only ones he has in fact. Don't you think he wouldn't put up that whole show if he only got a little bit of what he dreams of?" Tomo asked, still very calm but the two kids felt the criticism behind it.

"I doubted him at first but he proved me to be a brave young man who cares about the people around him. I only wish that he'd get some of it back sometimes…" the man added with a sigh. Sasuke never looked up from the ground and Sakura stared blankly at the realisation that she had been a terrible person all this time. Tomo finally smiled. "Hold on Naruto" he whispered softly in the wind of the night.

Xxxxxxxxx

The wind slapped his face from the speed. Sharingan activated, Kakashi jumped from a tree to the other as fast as he could to get his pupil to safety. He had to stop a couple of times on the way for Naruto to be sick on solid ground. Although he visibly weakened, he still kept his promise and fought to stay awake. Sometimes Kakashi would talk to him to make sure he was still there. Naruto would talk a little but it was nothing of his normal ranting self. He would say a couple of words and stop to catch his breath.

"Naruto, are you still with me?" Kakashi checked for another time now. Naruto nodded so softly that if Kakashi hadn't turned his head to see, he would've missed it. The boy's eyes were so dim, it scared his teacher. Baby blues had gone dark grey. The jounin shivered at the sight.

"Naruto can you say anything? Just talk to me okay?" Kakashi pleaded.

"A cold bedroom…" he panted. Kakashi had to slow down to hear his voice so much its volume had decreased. "What…?" he asked but the kid didn't even seem to see him. He was far into his thoughts.

"A woman… pretty…" Naruto breathed, completely disconnected. Kakashi stopped running on a huge tree branch and sat Naruto against the trunk. He looked into his eyes while the kid kept talking about some delirious images he seemed to see.

"…gone…" he whispered. Tears slid down his paled cheeks. Kakashi shook him. "Naruto what are you talking about?" the jounin asked in pure concern. Naruto cried silently for a moment. "Sorry…" he finally muttered. Kakashi shook his head for a second before regaining his composure, ignoring the growing fear.

A cracking noise came up to Kakashi's fine ears. He activated his sharingan and felt some powerful chakra getting closer to his position. The jounin washed the feeling away for a second. He turned to Naruto again, not letting down his guard.

"Why are you sorry, Naruto?" he asked as the feeling was too powerful. He turned and saw the bushes open on rogue ninjas. Five of them to be precise. They slowly walked into the clearing he and Naruto were hiding in. Kakashi started panicking. He turned back to Naruto who smiled sadly.

"I always keep my promises, that's my ninja way…" he whispered with a proud smile. Kakashi shook his head. "I know that, but what about it?" he snapped, aware of the danger they were in. Naruto's smile faded quickly and his eyes dimmed, if possible.

"I don't think I can keep my promise this time, sensei" he admitted. A lone tear rolled down his cold cheek. "Why not?" Kakashi shouted, all is emotions taking over him. Naruto's eyes were almost closed all the way down. "…so tired…" he breathed. "Naruto don't!" Kakashi ordered but the kid was already gone. The sensei's blood froze in his veins.

"We know you're there Hatake! We're taking you down" a cold voice called out. Kakashi closed his eyes and turned to his opponents.

Xxxxxx

**That's it for now people! I had started writing this chapter a long time ago and realized I had never finished it so here it is now! I hope that made up for the long wait and I can't wait to hear what you thought of it! Press the button and make me happy! Hehe!**

**See you soon!**

**- THwriter**


	3. A change of mind

**Sorry for the wait! Here's the update!**

_"I don't think I can keep my promise this time, sensei" Naruto admitted. A lone tear rolled down his cold cheek. "Why not?" Kakashi shouted, his emotions taking the best of him. Naruto's eyes were almost closed all the way down. "…so tired…" he breathed. Kakashi's blood froze in his veins and the kid was gone again._

_"We know you're there Hatake! We're taking you down" a cold voice called out. __Kakashi closed his eyes and turned to his opponents._

They were five. They bore the sign of a far-off land, known to hide enemies of the leaf. The sound ninjas circled the tree where Kakashi was standing with a sick Naruto on his side. Kakashi was always very calm in a battle situation because he knew losing his temper would not bring him any good. Besides, he had to care about the security of his comrades as well. This time was different. His student was already in a very bad shape and he was afraid the kid would not make it in time, even in an optimal situation. Fighting off these opponents would take some precious time away – time he would gladly spend running home and cure is injured student.

His heart beat at an extraordinarily fast rhythm, but he would not show his fear. He had to keep being strong if he wanted to get out of the fight unscathed. He did not have any time to waste fighting. He had to make up an escape plan as quickly as possible. He made up his mind. Fighting was not an option. He had to run and send attacks to avoid the danger. He took a deep breath. He wished the others were there with him. Usually, taking on five enemies would not be a problem, but he couldn't leave Naruto alone behind him and not watch over the kid.

The opponents moved closer to the tree and got into battle mode. One of them, probably the leader and the same who had spoken to him at first, came forward to talk to the _jounin_. His friends had taken their weapons out and seamed to wait for their cue. Kakashi stiffened. ''What do you want? Who sent you?'' he shouted to the others' attention. ''You know just who'' the leader spat.

He did not like to admit this but deep down, Kakashi had just a strong feeling of who it was. ''What do you want?'' he asked again. The other grinned naughtily, fully knowing that the silver-haired acknowledged his identity. ''The boy'' he simply replied, motioning towards the orange heap. Kakashi turned to face Naruto, whom was gone far away from conscious land. He spun back to the enemy. ''Why him?'' he inquired. The sound ninja laughed. ''I was surprised too, because we were supposed to get the Uchiha kid… but then Orochimaru-sama heard that Naruto discarded his men with a _rasengan,_ so he ordered us to get him instead'' he explained. Kakashi listened carefully and analyzed what had been said. So the earlier attack was nothing against Tomo-san. The ninjas were ordered to get Sasuke. Kakashi then remembered everything that happened during the chuunin exam, how Orichimaru attacked his team and left a cursed mark on the Uchiha's neck, before destroying the village and killing the third _hokage_. Had he already changed his mind and set his sights on Naruto instead?

Kakashi clenched his fists, readying himself for a fight. He wasn't letting Naruto go so easily. ''There is no way you are taking him to Orochimaru! The kid stays with me!'' Kakashi shouted in the ninja's direction. The five of them stiffened, knowing that was the beginning of a fight. ''Well then, we will have to come and get him ourselves'' the sound ninja announced. He then motioned for the others to launch their attacks. Kakashi quickly pushed his headband up, revealing a glowing red eye. He quickly moved towards Naruto and grabbed him by the waist. He hopped on higher branches and lowered the kid, having gotten a little distance. One of the five ninjas had climbed on a neighboring tree and started shooting _kunais_ in the _jounin_'s direction. Kakashi dodged them and sent a few of them flying back towards their owner. He sent his own shuriken as fast as he could. He felt someone behind, and arms wrapping around his neck. A burning sensation appeared in his hands and the grip around him loosened. Electric chakra sent the enemy flying backwards.

Kakashi brushed his shoulders and his _chidori_ went off as he concentrated on the three last ninjas standing. One was getting to Naruto and the two last were not visible. Kakashi rushed to Naruto when a strong wind brushed him back, holding his movements. The ninja responsible for this _jutsu_ appeared in front of him. Kakashi plunged towards him when something caught his leg. He spun to see the last of the five sound ninjas, using a wood technique that held him to the branch. He could not move. He stared at the enemy, right through his eyes. The man froze as Kakashi's glare put him in a sort of haze. It was as if his brain froze. His vision went red and he saw himself tied up to a rock. With this, he saw birds diving towards him and felt them picking up at his flesh. He yelped in pain but no one could hear him.

Kakashi felt relief when the grip of the wood loosened around his leg, as the ninja who made it appear stared blankly ahead and fell to his knees, caught up in the master's _genjutsu._ The jounin turned back around, only to see that a ninja was running away, carrying a small orange bundle on his back. His blood froze. His breath caught in his throat. _Naruto._ With this, he had forgotten that the wind-user was still standing in front of him, grinning. ''You're not going anywhere, are you?'' he said to Kakashi's attention. It was not really a question. His menacing tone said it all. Kakashi put his arm down to charge his chakra but the ninja was faster to cut his arm with his kunai. ''I've seen you once, you will not get me with this!'' he spat, blocking the _chidori_ that was meant to hit him. The jounin clutched his arm in pain. He raised his head up to glare at his opponent, but this one jumped to a higher branch. ''You won't get me with your _genjutsu_ either''. Kakashi concentrated - so much that he formed a headache - but managed to burst the branch on which the sound shinobi was standing, only by looking at it with his _sharingan_ power. The man jumped on the trunk of the tree and held to it with chakra in his feet.

Kakashi looked the other way, but Naruto seemed so far away now. He was only a spot in his vision. His enemy came to attack him again. Kakashi moved in a flash of light. The ninja fell upon the empty spot in surprise and the jounin rushed behind him with a fully loaded _chidori. _The unlucky opponent fell to the ground, completely drained. Kakashi would usually have been proud of his shot but he did not waste any time to think. He pushed the ground with such force that he almost went flying forward. He started to go Naruto's way. He was so fast that the last sound ninja standing had to quicken up his pace considerably. He had a good advance though, but he could feel the killer intents coming from the kid's sensei.

Kakashi ran breathlessly. He didn't even have the time to look around or to think. He ran full speed through the darkness. Far from there, the sun started to rise from the horizon. Soon it would shine in the lower sky and shed its first beams of daylight upon the land. There was no time to waste. Or was it too late already …

Xxxx

Sakura shivered. She had gone back inside the tent to get a little bit of sleep. Somehow she must have managed to fall asleep. Deathly images chased her in her dreams. Her body shook and she jerked awake, covered in cold beads of sweat. A muffled scream escaped from her mouth but no one seemed to hear her. She looked around herself. Tomo-san was resting near her. His eyes were closed but he wasn't peaceful. Sakura shook herself, telling herself that these were only dreams. Or were they rather nightmares? She picked herself up and went to go outside. Sasuke was feeding what was left of the fire so he could heat up something to eat. Sakura looked around and saw that Sasuke had managed to find some fish. He started grilling it on the fire. She cleared her throat and sat beside him.

''How did you find these?'' she asked. He shrugged. After a few seconds he spoke up. ''I heard the sound of water and found there was a little river down here…'' he mumbled, emotionlessly. She nodded. ''Did you get some sleep?'' he asked. She moved her head lightly. ''I kept having nightmares…'' she confessed. Sasuke looked up at her for a second but went back to staring blankly at the roasting fish. ''I hope they made it to Konoha now'' Sakura added after a while. Sasuke nodded silently. He handed some fish to Sakura and they ate in silence. Eventually, Tomo came out and sat with them. They stayed silent and ate their fish.

Xxxx

Kakashi stumbled upon one more paper bomb. The chase after Naruto was hard because the ninja who carried him kept setting traps to slow Kakashi down. The jounin took a halt and grabbed a scroll out of his pouch. He bit his thumb and spread his own blood across the paper. The summoning technique was effective as two dogs appeared in a cloud of smoke. Kakashi ordered one to go and find Sasuke and Sakura. He sent the other one ahead of him to keep the enemy's track. The sensei then started running again. Sasuke would get his message from his summon dog and join him. Since ninjas were after them, there were no reasons to keep them apart. Besides, he was getting further and further away from the village, meaning that he was getting further from getting Naruto to safety.

Xxxx

The two students and their client had started walking again. The mission was to bring the man back home so they didn't waste a second. After cleaning their camping location, they went back on the road. A few hours passed and they stayed silent all along. The discussion of the previous night had shaken them all. Tomo had taught the kids a lesson of life when they talked about the way they treated Naruto. Maybe they wouldn't have realized it at a normal time, but with the way Naruto was when he left, they couldn't help but feel guilty and worried about their friend.

Sasuke heard a cracking noise in the branches and automatically activated his _sharingan_. Sakura spun around when Sasuke tensed up and Tomo-san followed both their gazes. A small dog ran to meet them. He had a leaf village headband wrapped around his neck. Sakura relaxed a bit when she recognized one of her sensei's summon dogs. Did that mean they were finally getting good news? Sasuke felt the same kind of relief when he saw Kakashi's dog. Had he send the dog to tell them Naruto was okay? Tomo didn't seem to understand but the calm that went upon the two others made him relax a little bit. The dog reached them and showed Sasuke the scroll that was wrapped around his neck. ''It's from Kakashi'' the dog added. Sasuke nodded.

The raven-haired shinobi grabbed the message and recognized his sensei's handwriting, though it seemed like it had been written quickly and unsteadily. Sasuke read and he froze on his spot, eyes wide open. Sakura started to be concerned by Sasuke's look. ''What is it?'' she asked, unsure if she wanted the answer, but in the meantime, really eager to have some news from her teammate. Sasuke swallowed a lump in his throat.

''Naruto has been kidnapped by Orichimaru's men…''

Xxxx

**This is it for now, folks! I know it's been so long but I've never been so busy in my life! School starts tomorrow so I'm taking some time now because I don't know when I'll be able to write again. I had tons of ideas for this story though so I wanna keep it up! Thank you guys so much for the wonderful reviews! You guys are really amazing! I'm touched to see so many of you like it so far! Thanks for being with me! We're in this together ;)**

**Oh and I don't know if I mentioned it before but the story happens like after the chuunin exam but Sasuke hasn't left. It's as if they started doing missions again after the exam fuss. So yeah that's it I think!**

**Any questions, comments, advices, I take it all! I love to hear what you think! As long as there is no bashing of course! Thanks a bunch and stay tuned please! I'll make it up for the long wait, I promise!**

**TBC**


	4. The plan

**Hello people! Two chapters in the same year! I'm getting good aren't I? No seriously, I hadn't realized how much I had left this story hanging until some of you brought it up. Please take my deepest apologies and this new chapter that I hope you will enjoy! **

**Xxxx**

_Sasuke grabbed the message and recognized his sensei's handwriting, though it seemed like it had been written quickly and unsteadily. _

_''What is it?'' Sakura asked._

_''Naruto has been kidnapped by Orochimaru's men…''_

Sasuke trailed off as the new information sunk into his mind. His sensei hadn't brought their teammate home. He knew that because he now received a notice that said otherwise. Naruto had been taken to Orochimaru. Sasuke wondered why and how had this happened. Kakashi did not mention anything about it, other than the fact the he was attacked by the snake master's men. What would Orochimaru want to do with Naruto? Didn't he want him at first? But Sasuke had no intention to join the mad man. Is that the reason why he chose to get Naruto? Sasuke thought it would be dumb considering there was no chance in a whole life time that Naruto would ever want to team up with a man like Orochimaru. He despised him from the very start, especially now that he had killed the beloved Hokage of the leaf village. Naruto had so much admiration for that man that there was no way he would want to help the very man who killed his model.

Sakura was taken aback as well. She had not expected anything like this to happen. In fact she was waiting to hear anything but that. How come Orochimaru would ever take Naruto? The kid was a total klutz, although he had managed to pull up a great action plan when they were attacked by surprise. Were the men after Naruto even at that time? It couldn't be, considering they could have taken him down any time since he was sleeping in a tree. But they had attacked her and Sasuke instead. This made absolutely no sense to her. She looked up at Sasuke's eyes, just to see if she could find the same kind of emotions into him that she was having at that right moment. Tomo was dumbfounded on the side.

''What does that mean?'' Sakura finally managed to cry out. Sasuke seemed to analyze the situation.

''That means they were attacked by ninjas on their way back home. That also means Naruto was really weak at that point'' he explained. Sakura looked at him with a questioning look. Sasuke frowned.

''Do you really believe he – of all people – would let himself get caught that easily?'' he pointed out. Sakura looked down sadly.

''Oh no! What do we do now?'' she cried out and started panicking. Tomo still had the can-someone-explain-to-me-what's-happening look on his face. Sasuke shook his head to regain a clear focus on the situation.

''Kakashi had to be outnumbered if he lost Naruto like that. He needs our help, that is for sure, but what do we do with Tomo-san?'' he reasoned. Tomo shrugged.

''In the worst of cases, I can walk myself home'' he proposed shyly. Sasuke shook his head but Tomo went on. ''It's only a couple more miles ahead, you've done a lot already!'' he added. Sasuke went to say something when a flash of understanding sparkled in his eyes.

''Come to think of it, Orochimaru is hiding in the sound country. I think it's somewhere passed the land of rice patties. We can get you home and then track Naruto and Kakashi with the help of the dog'' Sasuke explained wittily. Hope flashed through Sakura's features and Tomo grinned slightly at the thought of being walked home, but also knowing the ninjas who accompanied him would find their friend in his very own land. He was just saddened by the fact that someone so cruel lived near his home, endangering the lives of all the people that came from his very own village.

Without any further thought, they sent the dog in front of them and quickened their pace. Even Tomo was making his biggest effort to follow the frenetic rhythm of the two _shinobi_. In the best conditions, they would make it to the village in an hour. Then they would be able to leave Tomo at his place and run towards saving their already injured friend.

Xxxx

Kakashi had reached the borders of the foreign land, where one of the three _sannin _of Konoha was hiding. He had lost sight of his blond student but he could still feel the very faint chakra of the nine-tailed demon. It had been a couple of hours since he had sent out his summon dog to track the rest of his team but he still had no news of their whereabouts. His own dog came to a halt and Kakashi steadied himself. He was now crossing the main street of the land of rice patties. There were many small businesses throughout the road, where the owners tried to sell hand crafted products. The smell of rice and Japanese sweats came to Kakashi's nose. It quickly reminded him that he had not eaten much in the past twelve hours but he could not think of eating right now. He was worried about his whole team's safety, because even if Sasuke and Sakura reached him now, they would still have to face the man who kidnapped Naruto. That also included a possibility of fighting.

The _jounin_ noticed odd people trying to hide their way across town. Unfortunately for them, he was very good at tracking ninjas and those men were no ordinary men. Kakashi assumed that following them would lead him just where he wanted to go. He hid in a corner and performed a clear transformation _ninjutsu_. He came out under the traits of a bold looking civilian. Without seeming like it, he followed the traces of the sound ninjas he had spotted moments before. His dog was still following him, but in the pattern of a normal dog having a walk with his master.

As he seemed to be getting away from the crowded part of town, Kakashi resumed to being an untraceable ninja. He lowered his chakra so that he would not be detected, even though he doubted that the enemies would be able to do such things as sensing chakra. He feared what Orochimaru would do, more than he feared the man himself.

After a while, he started to see that he was heading towards the bottom of a small mountain. The ninjas he was following had been entering a small forest and disappearing from Kakashi's chakra radar. He assumed that there was a lair beneath the mountain and he could tell that Orochimaru was probably hiding there.

Xxxx

The dark room was lit by very low candle light. It was large and rather empty of any furniture. A dark shadow sat in the distance. A man walked towards the shadow and cleared his throat. ''The young boy as arrived, shall we bring him in, master?'' he asked. The man did not flinch. He raised his chin up and let out a whistling-like sound. ''Proceed'' he ordered. The other nodded and waved to someone behind him to come closer.

The other ninja dragged himself forward, hunching as he was obviously carrying something heavy upon his back. ''You managed to knock him out'' called the man still standing in the darkness. His servant looked up from the ground. ''He was already out when we got him! We did not even have to fight him!'' he confessed. Orochimaru flinched. He dragged himself towards the lump on his working ninja's back and scrutinize the unconscious _genin._ ''That's…curious'' he spat. He would have never thought that the kid would have been beaten so easily.

''Kabuto, come and take a look'' he ordered to someone in the distance. A second figure came out of the shadow. The light the candles diffused gleamed at the surface of the man's glasses. Both men bowed to the newcomer's presence. Kabuto shot a quick look at the blonde's overall state. ''He's in bad shape! What have you guys done to him?'' he finally asked. The guy shook his head. ''I don't know. I don't understand! If this kid is the_ Jinchuuriki_ containing the Kyuubi's spirit, he is not as strong as I thought! We found him like that!'' the man explained. Orochimaru hushed him with a whistle. The man bowed once more.

''Leave him to me and go'' Orochimaru ordered. The ninja nodded. He laid Naruto on the ground and ran out. Orochimaru ended up alone with Kabuto and an unconscious Naruto. ''I'm sorry master, this is so deceiving…'' Kabuto started, but the snake-like man cut him off. ''Don't worry it doesn't change anything for what I was planning to do'' Orochimaru assured. Kabuto looked down at the kid. ''What do I do?'' he asked. Orochimaru smiled cruelly. ''You know where you have to bring him'' he said. Kabuto nodded. He grabbed the kid and left. Orochimaru stood there and let out a cold laugh before leaving behind Kabuto.

Xxxx

Excitement burned throughout Sakura's whole body when she saw a village appear before her eyes. They had finally made it to the land of rice patties. They were then closer to get Naruto, in addition to being done with the mission they were assigned with. They could now drop Tomo off to a safe place and fly off to rescue their friend.

Sasuke felt relief wash over him when he saw the city. He noticed that Sakura's tension went down as well. At least they made it to the right place without any injuries. He did not know how long it would stay that way but at least one part of the problem was solved. The only thing left to do now was to find Kakashi and Naruto.

Tomo smiled at the sight of his home town. He was happy to have made it alive through his journey. He also felt sympathy for both his companions and prayed that he could help, even though he knew he could not. At least he could still pray for Naruto. The three of them stopped and turned to face each other. Sasuke took the lead as he always seemed to do when his sensei was absent. ''Now we've brought you home Tomo-san. Is there a place where you would like us to escort you?'' he asked the old man. Tomo smiled.

''Thank you kids, for all that you have done for me! I pray for you and your friend Naruto, and hope you will find him and get home safe. Maybe you could just lead me to the main tower so I can ask for further protection'' he proposed. Sakura nodded.

''Show us where that is and then you will be safe'' she agreed. He smiled at her and started walking towards his destination. They made it to the tower after several minutes. Finally, their mission was over.

''Thank you so much for bringing me here, even though you knew your friend was in danger! You two are very brave! I am proud to have met you and I will pray for you!'' he thanked. Sakura smiled and Sasuke kept his usual face.

''We were just assuming our role as _shinobi_ of the leaf village'' she explained. The man nodded. ''If there is anything I can do to help…'' he started but Sasuke cut him off, ''Now we have to go on our own'' he said. The old man nodded in understanding. They said quick goodbyes and ran off, following Kakashi's dog.

Xxxx

The silver-haired_ jounin_ had been waiting in a tree for what seemed like hours. He assumed that going in there on his own would endanger both himself and his two students that would soon join him. To avoid trouble, he had decided to sit up in a tree and to observe what was going on around what seemed like the entrance of Orochimaru's hideout. He had seen two ninjas run out of there in a hurry. He recognized one of them as being the one who took Naruto away. At least he was now sure of where his pupil was. He just had to wait for the two others to join him.

He would have taken a short nap when he felt a strong chakra coming towards him. It was definitely something he knew. He reached his head out hardly enough to see a pink-haired _kunoichi_ and a raven-haired _shinobi_ running towards the very tree he was sitting in. He made sure no one was around and jumped off. Sakura shifted, surprised by Kakashi's appearance. Sasuke stayed focus and acted as if he already knew that he would see his teacher.

''Sensei!'' Sakura exclaimed in surprise but Kakashi motioned for her to drop down a few decibels. ''I've been here for a while. Naruto is in there and I believe this to be Orochimaru's hideout. What about Tomo-san?'' Kakashi asked. ''We left him at the main tower back in town'' Sasuke replied. Kakashi nodded in approval. He waved for his students to get closer in a caucus. ''Here's the deal,'' he started, ''Naruto is already in a bad shape so we have to get him out of there quickly. If we can avoid battle, that will be the best. Though, if we have to fight, we stay together as long as I don't tell you to leave. If I say go, you run and try to find Naruto. Is that clear?'' he explained. Both his pupils nodded in agreement. ''Then let's go!'' Kakashi ordered.

Xxxx

Kabuto laid Naruto on a cold bed. Orochimaru was waiting by the door. Kabuto turned to his master. ''What's the plan now, Orochimaru-sama?'' he asked. The snake-like man smiled ''we wait'' he spat coldly. Kabuto went back to the door and to his master at the same time. ''What for'' he inquired. Orochimaru smiled and looked at the form on the bed. ''We just wait'' he simply said. Kabuto shrugged and left the room. Orochimaru stayed there, staring at the kid in silence.

''Let's see if they can save you now,'' he said towards the kid on the bed. ''I might finally get what I want…''

Xxxx

**Ok this is it for now. I hope that was a good update! Be kind and let me know what you think. I hope you still enjoy my story! Let me know if you still like it! It's not over yet! I'll do my best at updating as well! Thank you for reading!**

**TBC**


	5. What he really wants

_''We just wait'' Orochimaru simply said. Kabuto shrugged and left the room. Orochimaru stayed there, staring at the kid in silence._

_''Let's see if they can save you now,'' he said towards the kid on the bed. __''I might finally get what I want…''_

Xxxx

_The air was damp and reeked of decay. The place was so dark, it was suffocating. There weren't any sounds to be heard except for faint breathings of exhaustion. It was as if the whole world weighted down the atmosphere. Moving was getting hard and not trailing off was made difficult. The humidity came from the pooling water on the floor. It was burning hot which did not help the matter. _

_The kid dragged his feet and suffocated for oxygen. __**What's happening, **__he kept wondering. Nothing made sense anymore other than the nauseous feeling that flew in the air. And overall, no memory came to mind. A dark laugh filled the thin space. Hot and cold mixed together as shivers went through his whole body. __**What's going on?**_

Xxxx

Kakashi entered the snake master's lair with much precaution. He had pulled up his _hitai-ate_ to reveal a shining red eye. He scanned the area but felt no chakra signature. It's as if the people hiding in there knew that someone would be looking for them so they hid their chakra in order to not be found. Kakashi remembered hearing of what happened after Orochimaru fought the _Sandaime_. The old man had given his life to take away with him all the sannin's _ninjutsu_. Thus, Orochimaru had to go on without both his arms. Jiraya also told the _jounin_ that the man approached Tsunade for help but she never gave it to him, rendering him armless and suffering. Maybe the fact of not having his arms was scaring the _sannin _but Kakashi had a strong feeling that the man would still be able to pull something up his sleeve.

After making sure there was no danger for his team, Kakashi motioned for them to follow him. He looked over at Sasuke who was about to pull up his _Sharingan_ and froze.

''Don't'' he ordered silently. Sasuke turned off his chakra and looked at his teacher incredulously. ''Don't use your chakra or we could be detected. I'm good at hiding my own but I won't use it starting from now, just to be cautious'' he explained. Both students nodded and took out their _kunai_ knives. At least if they couldn't defend with _ninjutsu,_ they had weapons left along with _taijutsu_. Kakashi made a move to catch everyone's attention. Once he got it, he explained the plan for their next moves.

''Starting from now we have to be very careful. We have to stick together at all costs. We want to find Naruto but we do not want to be found. I can hardly feel Naruto's chakra which is not good. We have to make it fast and avoid trouble if we can'' Kakashi exposed. Sakura nodded. Sasuke frowned. ''What if we find Orochimaru?'' he pondered. ''We avoid getting hurt and if a battle is necessary, you stay behind and let me do the work, is that clear?'' the _jounin_ explained. ''_Ossu_!'' chimed the two _genin._ They started moving forwards.

Orochimaru's lair was a strange place. It was no pleasure to stand around. The corridors were narrow and dark and they were empty from anything cozy. Since it was under the earth, there were no windows, hence no light. The only halos came from the very few torches on the walls. The place was humid as well. It wasn't welcoming so much it made the Konoha ninjas shiver. The walls were made from mismatching boulders that seem like they could crumble at all times. It was no place Sakura Haruno could imagine living in. She found herself thinking that the place needed a little decoration when her sensei stiffened, reminding her that she was on a dangerous mission to find her friend.

Kakashi stiffened and came to a halt when the road split in two separate and dark ways. As there was no way of knowing where to go, he started getting annoyed with is non-functional tracking abilities. He wished he could just feel some flicker of chakra that would only give him a hint that his student was still with them at all.

Sasuke looked at both ways with a questioning look. ''What do you do now, sensei?'' he asked towards his silver-haired teacher. Kakashi sighed. ''I said we couldn't split so we try one and hope for the best'' he replied. Sakura swallowed a lump that had formed in her throat. She didn't like the situation they were in and she was getting scared. ''What if we're only getting ourselves into more trouble?'' she cried. Kakashi shook his head. ''It's our only chance of finding Naruto'' he answered, desperate of his own answer but having no choice but to go on.

They went for the right path and walked with even more attention than before. Kakashi had opened his ear to any possible sound that could betray the enemy's position. They walked for a while when they made it to a set of stairs that seemed to lead to a wide-open room with no lights and no furniture. Without any noise, they went down into the large place. The little fires danced from the torches, setting their creepy shadows on the walls. Sakura had shivers all the way down her spine. Cold sweat rolled down her back and Sasuke's brow. He was nervous enough to find that he was mostly shaking and holding his breath. He tried letting it out but it only came out in short gasps. Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder as he stepped forward into the room. At that right moment, he believed that he saw something move in the dark.

A whistling laugh made everyone's blood freeze in their veins. Sakura almost peed of fear. Even Sasuke whom wanted to play tough had a hard time keeping his blood cold.

''Well well, so you've come'' the voice echoed in the dark. It was unpleasant for anyone to hear since it was amplified by the structure of the room. Kakashi pulled up his _hitai-ate_ again since hiding wasn't necessary anymore. Seeing the gesture, Sasuke did the same.

''Oh look at this, you look so much like your older brother, **Sasuke'' **said the snake with emphasis on the Uchiha's name as if wanting to provoke him. Sasuke clenched his fists into tight balls, his nails digging the skin of his palm. Kakashi just put a hand in front of the raven-haired student to keep him from lunging at the man. Sasuke noticed and retreated for the sake of his friends.

''Ain't that cute, Hatake will protect his little friends'' the whistle went on. Sakura started getting angry. The fear left her to be replaced with anger.

''I won't ever let you hurt them. I am your opponent so leave them out of this'' Kakashi shouted. The fire crept up a little higher and Orochimaru had gotten closer enough for team Kakashi to see his evil smile through the darkness.

''Where is Naruto'' Kakashi asked on a tone that almost ordered an answer. That only got the snake man to laugh harder. ''Please do not tell me you care for this boy? He's a demon'' Orochimaru stated. Sakura stiffened. **What does he mean by that? **she wondered. Sasuke had noticed the comment as well but decided he would keep the matter for later. Finding the blond ninja was more of a priority for the time being.

''Naruto is a part of our team. We need him back as a teammate, but also as a friend!'' Kakashi spat. Orochimaru grinned evilly. ''Come on, nobody wants him. Even for his teammates, he is a dead weight. Why don't you ask the girl over there'' he proposed. Sakura was shocked. Was he talking about her?

''Leave them out of this'' Kakashi ordered. Sakura yelped in anger. ''Naruto may be annoying sometimes but he's a good friend!'' she defended. Sasuke inwardly agreed with that comment. Orochimaru exhaled deeply. ''Whatever, he'll be dead in no time…unless…'' he started but was cut up fast enough.

''What did you do, just leave him alone!'' Sakura squalled. Kakashi looked at her, motioning for her to stop. ''Let me handle this, ok?'' he asked quietly. She snorted but turned her head around without further noise. Kakashi turned back to Orochimaru.

''What is it that you want? You said he would die unless you get what you want'' Kakashi pointed out. The snake master smirked mischievously.

''If you beat me I might tell you'' he whistled. Sasuke plunged forward to attack the man standing in front of him. The man having no arms, he shouldn't be having problems beating him. He managed to land a punch in his face before being tackled down to the floor. Orochimaru grinned, blood pouring at the corner of his lips. ''I like that. The Uchiha is getting mad. But you're not even close to matching your brother's strength'' Orochimaru exposed. Sasuke debated against whatever was holding him. It was a bunch of snakes that the master had probably summoned with a _kuchiyose jutsu_. Sasuke tried cutting them off with his kunai. Kakashi posted himself in between his student and their enemy.

''Leave him out of this'' he ordered. Orochimaru shrugged. ''He charged at me first'' the man replied. Kakashi shook his head to see if Sasuke was alright. The kid had managed to cut the snakes in two pieces and was fighting the last but bigger one. Sakura ran to her friend's help while Kakashi decided to take on the snake _sama_.

''_Kuchiyose no jutsu!_'' Kakashi called. Four of his dogs appeared and ran towards Orochimaru. The man defended himself by throwing snakes on them while keeping an eye on the copy cat ninja. The snake master spun fast enough to see a clone of Kakashi running towards him with a fully loaded _chidori_. The dogs had just been a way to distract the _sannin_'s attention while his clone created the attack. Orochimaru dodged fast enough to avoid the blow that could have been harmful to him. The lightning grazed his arm and he didn't feel it as blood started trickling down the necrosed limb.

Sakura and Sasuke managed to get rid of the snake and got up to counter attack but Kakashi blocked them. ''Run and find Naruto!'' he ordered them. ''But sensei?'' Sakura complained but Kakashi wouldn't listen. ''I'll take care of him! GO!''

Sakura and Sasuke nodded and left Kakashi alone to fight Orochimaru. Without his arms he should not be too much of a threat. The two _genin_ ran breathlessly into the hallways, trying to find where Naruto could possibly be. Sometimes they would cross a door and flung it open but it never revealed anything concerning the blonde ninja.

Xxxx

Orochimaru opened his mouth wide and a long sword came out of it. His neck then went boneless and stretched long enough to aim at Kakashi. The _jounin _dodged but the sword was fast enough to keep up. Kakashi wondered how long he could stand this situation. There was nothing around that he could use for substitution _jutsu _so he could not let himself get hit. His _chidori_ use was also limited. He would need a great deal of strength to win.

''Why are you doing this, what do you want?'' the silver-haired asked the snake man. The latter didn't reply, charging once more at the _jounin_. Kakashi managed to grab the sword with one hand and made up signs with the other. He created a fireball _jutsu _and ignited the snake's hair. His whole neck quickly got on fire, causing the snake to yelp in pain. He retracted his neck and spit out a clone of himself, the same way he had taken the sword out of his mouth. His old skin burnt to ashes. His new self was unscathed and healthy. Kakashi sighed, wondering how he could end up killing the man.

Xxxx

Sasuke and Sakura opened yet another door to find some kind of laboratory. They came to a halt and went in. Mostly, the room contained scrolls and books of all sorts. Sasuke picked one up and read quickly. It was something about reviving the dead. _**Edo tensei ? **_Sasuke thought. _**Is that even possible? **_he wondered again. Believing what the scroll said, with a human sacrifice and the body of a deceased person, one can revive the dead. Sasuke quivered at how dark this jutsu was. He looked at a few other scrolls when Sakura nudged him. He spun around to her handing him a scroll. In it was the drawing of a dark mark. The same one he had on his neck since the _chuunin_ exam. Sasuke read more. Apparently, this mark gave the bearer, if he survived, incredible powers. The mark, if controlled by its user, even had two stages of intensity of power. The only thing is that it draws a lot a chakra, which can bring one to be overpowered by the mark. Sasuke frowned. Why would Orochimaru want to give him power? He looked over at Sakura, puzzled. She shrugged, not knowing what this meant.

Sasuke searched the table where Sakura had found the information and found another weird scroll. This scroll showed how a person can transfer her soul into another body, allowing her to live eternally. It was hand-written so Sasuke figured it was Orochimaru's own researching. ''This is creepy'' Sakura said. Sasuke nodded then it hit him. ''Kami! That's it!'' he whooped. Sakura looked at him puzzled. ''He gave me power so I would become stronger. This way he could switch into my body to live on!'' he explained.

''That's the main idea but that's not all there is'' said a voice from behind them. The _genin_ spun around to face a mid tall man with silver hair and gleaming round glasses.

''You!'' Sakura shouted. The man smiled. ''You're the guy from the _chuunin_ exam!'' Sasuke exclaimed. The one concerned nodded in agreement and grinned.

''You work for Orochimaru'' Sasuke stated noticing the _Oto hitai-ate_. Kabuto nodded.

''All this time you were fooling us!'' Sasuke added.

''My sole purpose in the _chuunin_ story was to make sure you pass so the final test plan could have worked. Unfortunately it failed because of some idiots of your kind!'' Kabuto explained. Sasuke clenched his fists and Sakura moved closer to him in order to protect herself.

A shuriken cut the air in two. Kabuto had started on the offensive mode. Sasuke knew that they had to get out of the room or there wouldn't be any escape.

Xxxx

Kakashi dodged the attack from Orochimaru's giant snake. The man had used _kuchiyose_ to call up a humongous reptile monster. The _jounin _dodged it a few times and called on his own dogs for help. They went for the snake as distraction as he charged up an important amount of chakra. He then charged at the giant snake which was torn open by the flow of chakra emanating from the _chidori_. Kakashi panted while walking towards the giant mess to see what effects he had with his attack. Orochimaru came out of the mess with a mad look on his face and bit his own arm to draw some blood he would use for a technique. His face then contracted in pain. He let out a loud cry. Kakashi looked at the scene, confused.

The snake master's arms started cracking as the skin detached itself and blood started pouring out of the deep wounds. His arms hadn't hurt so badly since the time the Hokage left with the life in them. The room started to smell of burnt skin. Kakashi was dumbfounded. At some point Orochimaru used the little strength he had left to disappear in a cloud of smoke. He shook his head to try to understand what just happened but found that it was better to keep going. He took off into the direction his students took.

Xxxx

Sasuke managed kicks and punches towards Kabuto but the _oto_ nin was fast to block him up. At some point he grabbed Sasuke by the arm and his palm started glowing. Sasuke's eyes widened in horror but he couldn't move away from the hit. Kabuto slammed his palm upon Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke bit his tongue to avoid screaming out in pain. Sakura looked in horror. Kabuto then let go off Sasuke who bent to his knees, breathing heavily. ''What did you do to me?'' he asked. Kabuto smiled, ''I ligatured your muscle. You won't be able to use that arm anymore,'' the medic explained. Sasuke's face showed horror. Sakura was trying to keep herself from crying. ''Sasuke-kun'' she whispered. Sasuke tried to start kicking again, out of anger but Kabuto grabbed his leg and hit the tendon in his ankle. Sasuke tripped and fell to the ground, holding both his shoulder and his ankle. Sakura got mad and tried pulling a _kunai_ at him. Kabuto deflected it without a problem. They were in trouble.

Xxxx

_The air got warmer as he got closer to the main room towards were all corridors led. There was a giant door with barriers, holding back a dark power. A laugh echoed in the place. The kid managed to drag his heavy feet up to the giant door. He still looked down, too weak to turn his head up. 'What's going on, I feel so numb,' he thought. _

_**What's up, gaki. You look a little tensed, **__growled a loud voice. _

'_Why am I here? What's happening?' the kid asked. _

_**I don't know, you tell me. **_

'_Stupid fox! What are you doing to me!' the boy raged. The water started to agitate around him. The fox just laughed uncontrollably. The boy's anger rose at the point where the water was no longer still on the ground. _

'_KUSOOOO!' _

A large burst of chakra emanated from the small room. It was powerful enough to put down all the torches in the hallways. The whole hideout went dark and silent.

Xxxx

''Naruto!'' Kakashi breathed. He'd recognize that chakra between a thousand. It was the nine tails' chakra. He ran faster, using his _sharingan_ to see through the darkness. The outburst was short but it was enough for Kakashi to trace it. He now felt so close to finding Naruto.

Xxxx

''What was that'' screamed a scared Sakura now that all the lights were out. Kabuto quickly used a _jutsu_ to light them back up. She looked around to see Sasuke in the same crouching position and Kabuto turned towards her. She was still in a bad position. Kabuto smiled sadistically and pulled out a _kunai_. Sakura awaited the hit but it never came. A strong pressure fell upon her. She opened her eyes to see Kabuto crashed down on the floor in a bloody heap. Above him stood a panting Naruto, enveloped in red chakra. Sasuke looked up and saw this scene as well.

A little down the hallway, another chakra came towards them.

The red chakra dissipated and Naruto stood, off balance, his eyes dull. Sakura looked at him in disbelief. Sasuke couldn't tell if she was happy or not. The blonde teenager's knees went weak. He fell to the floor within seconds.

''Naruto-kun'' Sakura breathed.

''Naruto!'' called the silver-haired_ jounin_ that had reached up to them. ''What happened?'' he asked, reaching his team.

''He came out of nowhere and knocked our enemy out'' Sakura said in one breath. Kakashi looked down at Naruto's fallen form and touched his forehead. ''I think he's gotten even worse off! We need to go'' Kakashi ordered.

''Not before you give me what I want!'' yelled another voice. Team Kakashi turned around to see a mad looking Orochimaru. His hairs were messy and seemed pulled out and his face read a scary craziness. His eyes were wide and he looked like a psychopath.

''Give it to me!'' he screamed. They looked at him puzzled. ''Give me the Uchiha!''

Sasuke then understood the situation. ''His body is dying and he wants mine to transfer into!'' he explained. Kakashi growled. ''Get away, you won't have him!'' he yelled. Sasuke took his own defense. ''I'm never letting you have my body!'' he screamed.

''Then your friend will die!'' he raged. The three spun around to see that Kabuto was holding Naruto with glowing hands. Kakashi knocked him off with a chidori while Sasuke did the same with Orochimaru. Both enemies fell to the floor and they turned all their attention to Naruto who was unconscious again. Kakashi grabbed him with no time to lose and ran outside. Only then would they look up what was wrong with Naruto.

Xxxx

They managed to find their way out. Sakura was supporting Sasuke like a crutch and Kakashi was holding Naruto. He put him down when they considered being far enough of harm's way. The other two gathered around him. Kakashi didn't know much about medicine but he knew enough to draw a portrait of the kid's condition. He taped the kid's face in order to see if he could respond. ''Has he been conscious at all?'' Kakashi asked the other two. Sakura nodded. ''Hardly long enough to hit Kabuto before he could kill me'' Sakura responded. Kakashi kept taping Naruto's face in hopes of getting a response. The blonde finally stirred. ''Naruto! Are you alright? Can you hear me'' Kakashi asked. Naruto looked confused. He moved his head all around as if he couldn't see. ''where…m…I?'' he asked. Sasuke joined the effort. ''We just got you out of Orochimaru's grip'' he responded. Naruto flinched. ''Oro…who?'' he stuttered in the haze. ''Naruto, do you know what happened?'' Kakashi asked. Naruto shook his head from side to side. ''I remember you carrying me back to the village'' he admitted. ''I was sick'' he added. ''Do you know why'' Sakura asked. ''…You…'' Naruto breathed. His eyes then rolled back into his head as he gave into the darkness again.

Xxx

**Hehe cliffy ending! Sorry I can't help it! Thanks a bunch for the reviews I got, you guys are awesome! Thank you for bearing with me ! I hope my chapters make up for the wait ! Tell me what you thought ! I love reviews ! So hey hit that lil button and make me happy ! Thanks for reading!**

**TBC **


	6. No time to waste

_''Naruto, do you know what happened?'' Kakashi asked. Naruto shook his head from side to side. ''I remember you carrying me back to the village'' he admitted. ''I was sick'' he added. ''Do you know why'' Sakura asked. ''…You…'' Naruto breathed. His eyes then rolled back into his head as he gave into the darkness again._

Xxx

Strong gulfs of wind blew as team 7 was standing there in shock. They had managed to go into Orochimaru's hideout and get Naruto back almost unscathed, except for cuts and bruises. Sasuke was the one who got hurt the most since his fight with Kabuto. That didn't bother him too much though because he knew that was nothing his Hokage couldn't fix. Sakura was scared overall but she was fine. Kakashi on the other hand had used up a lot of chakra and he didn't show it but he was exhausted. The only thing maintaining the three of them fully awake was Naruto's case.

After a sudden burst of chakra back in the fight with Orochimaru, Naruto appeared and hurt Kabuto. They had managed to get him out after learning from Orochimaru that is plan had been to capture Naruto in order to get Sasuke to come save his friend. If the snake had gotten his hands on Sasuke, it could have been bad since the man wanted to transfer into the Uchiha's body. Fortunately, they had been able to get rid of both him and his accomplice. Kakashi wasn't sure if they had really killed them, but at least they had hurt them enough to get away.

Naruto had just been confessing to remembering some parts of the whole fight. He then admitted being sick before passing out again. Sakura let out a cry of despair. _''You''_ he breathed as his eyes rolled back into his head. His lids didn't shut completely so they could still see his cornea. Naruto started shaking violently. His mouth left open started to choke for air, letting out droplets of liquid crimson. He lay in front of them, convulsing against his own body. Kakashi's visible eyes grew wide with terror. ''Naruto ! What's happening?'' he asked into the air while trying to grab the kid's head before he hurt himself more. Sakura cried her heart out while Sasuke, even with trying to keep a stoic face, failed miserably at hiding how terrified he was.

''It's my fault'' Sakura squalled. Kakashi turned to her, unable to ignore her outburst anymore. ''Sakura, he didn't mean that **you** did this. He probably meant that it was all of us' fault for letting him down'' Kakashi tried to reassure the girl but she was mentally breaking down. ''What's wrong with him? What did Kabuto do to him?'' she cried. Kakashi's eyes snapped open. He then remembered Kabuto grabbing Naruto's collar with glowing palms. ''_Kuso_ ! Kabuto must have done something to him, in addition to the condition he already was in'' Kakashi cursed. Sakura stopped bawling to take in consideration what her _sensei_ had just said. ''What do we do, Kakashi _sensei_?'' she asked. Her teacher sighed.

''We don't have any time to waste. It might already be late. We have to find someone who can help him here'' Kakashi announced. Sakura and Sasuke looked at each other. This was way worst then what they could think of. ''Can't we get him to lady Hokage already?'' Sasuke asked. Kakashi looked at him sadly. ''I'm afraid that if we wait this long, Naruto won't make it to the village. We've wasted enough time already'' Kakashi explained. Sakura gulped. She didn't think her teammate's condition had gotten this bad. If it was the case then they were in trouble because that meant they would have to find a doctor in a country enemy to the leaf.

Kakashi grabbed Naruto and put him on his back. ''We're leaving now to see if we can find a doctor'' he announced. Sakura got up and helped Sasuke to his feet. The raven-haired wasn't too pleased with being held like that, but he had no choice because the adrenaline wasn't enough to make his leg stop hurting. They rushed as quickly as they could towards the village of rice patties. They reached the main tower after some time. There was a crowd in front of them. Sakura wondered what it could be but Kakashi recognized the man with his _sharingan_. Tomo-san had managed to get a crowd of men surrounding the tower.

''We want to help! I've summoned warriors and a doctor because I knew that you'd be able to get Naruto back. I had all my trust in you and I, at least, owe it to you'' Tomo explained to Kakashi who was keeping a slight distance for the sake of his injured student. The said doctor approached them and scrutinized Naruto. ''Bring him in the tower. I'll see what I can do'' he proposed. Kakashi nodded and motioned for Sakura to come over. As she got closer, Kakashi nodded towards Tomo-san. ''Stay with him and ask him if there's a way to send a message to lady Tsunade. We will need her here'' he explained. Sakura nodded and looked at Sasuke who seemed exhausted from his wounds. ''I'll take Sasuke with me'' Kakashi added. The _genin_ nodded and leaned onto the doctor to get into the tower. They were soon followed by Kakashi and an unconscious Naruto.

Sakura turned to Tomo. ''Tomo-san? Is there a way I can send a message to my Hokage? Kakashi would like for her to come over. She's one of the best medics in the world'' Sakura explained. Tomo nodded. ''I understand that you worry about your friend. Come with me, I will show you'' Tomo said. He went inside the tower and Sakura followed him. He made her climb a long set of stairs, opposite from the way her teammates had gone. They reached an inner balcony with many doors. Tomo walked in front of her and motioned for her to follow. He brought her to the last door and opened it to another set of stairs. A beam of light came through the door. She turned to the man. ''Are we there soon, Tomo-san?'' she asked. He nodded. ''It's right at the top of these stairs'' he replied. She nodded and ran for the few last steps. She came onto an outdoor balcony. There she saw a magnificent and fierce eagle. Tomo explained that she could write a message and hand it to the bird that would fly it to their Hokage. Sakura nodded and started scribbling on a scroll. When she was done, she tied the little roll of paper to the bird's claw. ''Hurry to the Hokage please'' she said through tear-glistening eyes. The bird chimed and left towards the sky with wide-open wings.

Xxx

Kakashi followed the doctor to a white sanitized room with the necessary medical supply. The man had explained that this room was for emergencies when they couldn't get to the closest hospitals. They would usually go in _Konoha_ for treating their injuries. Sasuke sat on a chair while the doctor motioned for Kakashi to lay Naruto on the bed. Even in his sleep, the boy seemed to be in a lot of pain. The doctor looked at Sasuke and then called for another doctor to check on his injuries. The second doctor came in and asked Sasuke to stand on his feet. Sasuke got up and staggered because of his hurting leg. The doctor then let him sit and started manipulating his ankle. ''Is it bad'' Sasuke asked. The doctor nodded. ''I cannot know for sure but it looks like a muscle as been ligatured'' he said. ''I know that, but can't you fix it with medical _ninjutsu_?'' Sasuke asked. ''Medical what? I'm sorry kid, but I'm a regular doctor. This is not a ninja village'' the doctor explained. Sasuke sighed and hoped that his Hokage would be there soon.

Kakashi had stayed near Naruto. The doctor had been analyzing everything by doing a battery of tests. He started connecting Naruto up to wired machines. ''Can't you tell what's wrong with him without those'' Kakashi asked, eyeing the monitors. ''I'm not a ninja. These machines are the only way I can get his vitals'' the man explained. Kakashi sighed and looked at Sasuke. The kid shrugged but his sensei could tell he was also annoyed with this. This was bad.

The doctor verified every machine several times. Naruto's heartbeat was a little too high to his liking but it was stable. His body temperature was also too high. Something else was off but the doctor still had to figure it out. Kakashi tried to understand the numbers and digits but they made no sense to him. He just looked at Naruto's sweaty brow and his occasional coughing fits and that was enough to tell the kid was in bad shape.

Sakura ended up joining them. She sat next to Sasuke and watched the doctor manipulate his limbs. ''I think we will have to operate you in order to tie the muscles back together'' the doctor announced. Sasuke turned to him, finally giving him attention after being concentrated for so long on the blonde's case. ''No, I'm fine. We have brilliant medic ninjas who can fix this without cutting me open'' he snapped. The doctor looked at him with wide eyes. He then got up and left the ungrateful kid. Sasuke turned his attention back to Naruto. He had hardly given any to Sakura whom sat next to him. ''I sent a message to Lady Tsunade. I hope that she will be there soon'' she spoke softly. Sasuke nodded without turning his eyes to her. ''Let's hope she brings her disciple with her. She's a medic _nin_ too. She could heal your muscles'' Sakura proposed. Sasuke turned to her, his eyes so serious. ''I don't care about that right now. I just hope she finds what's wrong with Naruto'' he replied. Sakura felt bad for thinking of Sasuke's health before Naruto's. She looked at the blonde, whom was swarmed with wires. She sighed sadly.

''Do they know what's wrong with him?'' she asked. Sasuke shrugged. ''They are ordinary doctors so they do what they can with what they have'' he explained. Sakura frowned, ''they cannot use chakra to heal him?'' she inquired. Sasuke shook his head no. The girl looked down. ''Oh _Kami_, I hope we didn't take the wrong decision'' she prayed. Sasuke nodded inwardly, never taking his eyes off his teammate.

Kakashi looked at the medical supply and tried to understand the doctor's doings. His attention turned to Naruto again when the kid started choking. Kakashi ran to Naruto's side and lifted his head so the kid could breathe. A fine line of blood trickled down the corner of his lips. ''What's wrong with him? Are you finding anything?'' Kakashi asked the doctor. The man could tell the _jounin_ was getting impatient. ''His body is exhausted. He probably needs some resting'' the doctor proposed. ''This is not the only thing! Something is wrong. Naruto has never been sick like that'' Kakashi explained. The doctor shrugged. ''There's a first time for everything!'' he said. Kakashi shook his head violently. ''No, you don't understand. This **cannot **be happening. Naruto **can't** get sick'' Kakashi pushed. The doctor shrugged. ''How do you expect one to train and fight missions over missions and never grow tired?'' he asked. Kakashi shook his head, his mind half-present into the conversation. ''No something is terribly wrong'' he mumbled.

Sakura flinched. She couldn't keep the image of Naruto out of her mind. He had looked at her with so much pain in his eyes. He had been suffering all this time. Even at the beginning when they were walking Tomo home. Naruto had never complained. All along the way he must have felt awful and he never said anything. She hung too much on the fact that he was loud and annoying. He couldn't possibly have quieted down. Or maybe he was really in a bad shape. Too much to even tell. She looked at him intensely. He was pale and sweaty. His features were hard, as if all his muscles constricted in pain. She didn't believe it from Naruto. He was never the one in pain. He was always the one screaming around and bouncing off the walls for no reasons. Was this all a joke? ''Come on Naruto, come around!'' she said, walking towards him to catch a clear glimpse of his face. ''Even Kakashi said so, you cannot get sick. Quit messing around, ok?'' she said on a funny tone. Kakashi perceived that she was probably trying to deny the evidence. Even he could not believe it but he had to stick to the truth. Sakura looked utterly nervous. She probably tried to feel better inside by denying everything.

''Sakura…'' Kakashi started but she cut him off. ''You should tell it to him, sensei. We don't have time to mess around with stupid goofs. Come on Naruto, get up!'' she said on some sort of condescending tone. Kakashi sighed. ''As much as I would like to say this Sakura, I can't. I don't think Naruto's playing…'' he said but she snapped. ''You know what he wants! He's just a sucker for attention!'' she said with a nervous laugh. She then turned and nudged Naruto. ''Sakura, stop that!'' Kakashi urged. She shrugged. ''It's just a lie, sensei!'' she justified. She nudged him again. ''Sakura, you go sit there and I don't want you near Naruto again!'' Kakashi snapped. Sakura stiffened and sat next to Sasuke, anger visible in her eyes.

_The kid lay on his back, floating on the water. It was so hot that he was almost in a comatose state. He then felt a first thump. He sat back up, looking at the large gates in the middle of the water. A pair of red glowing eyes pierced through him. Naruto had been awakened from the noises and movements. _

''_What was that '' he yelled. _

_Another thump hit him, even harder. ''What's going on?'' he added, even more concerned._

''_**Your friend's throwing a tantrum!'' **__a growl replied. Naruto shivered. ''Kyuubi? What are you doing? Why am I here again?'' the blonde screamed in panic._

''_**You're too weak,**__ gaki. __**I have to do all the work for you!'' **__the growl continued. ''What do you mean? Let me back into my body!'' Naruto ordered. The beast laughed coldly. _

''_**Are you sure you want to go back there?'' **__the voice echoed. Naruto frowned. __**''Listen to this, it's worth a shot!''**__ the Kyuubi added. Naruto then recognized Sakura's voice. _

''You should tell it to him, sensei. We don't have time to mess around with stupid goofs!'', _Naruto heard. He flinched at the harshness of these words._

''_**See, they don't even care if you're hurt! And you want to go back?'' **__the Kyuubi asked. Naruto looked down. His heart squeezed into his chest with hurt. He clutched his torso where his heart was. ''What do you want?'' Naruto asked icily. The Kyuubi grinned. __**''Boy, look at you! I'm tired of seeing you get beaten by a girl!'' **__the monster said almost sincerely. __**''It's my reason for doing this… my esteem and yours!''**__ he explained. Naruto stiffened. ''What did you just say? You're the one doing this?'' Naruto spat. The Kyuubi grinned. __**''What are you saying, gaki? Watch it! It's for your own good!''**__ he growled. Naruto started boiling with anger. ''What did you do to me, you bastard?'' he raged. The Kyuubi kept laughing harder and harder. _

''I found it!'' the doctor exclaimed. All heads turned to him. ''I found what's wrong with Naruto, but it's not going to be easy'' he risked. Kakashi leaned in closer, waiting for a response. ''So? What is it?'' he asked. ''His blood pressure is going down'' the doctor replied. ''Meaning?'' Kakashi asked. The other man sighed before explaining.

''That means he's massively bleeding…''

Xxx

''WHAT?'' the blonde raged. She stood up straight and stiffened. She squeezed the scroll she had been holding. The pressure was so strong that the paper ripped under her white tinted knuckles. She then banged the paper on her desk with such strength that the desk cracked. Shizune entered the room quickly. ''What's wrong, Lady Tsunade?'' she asked seeing the burning red face of her Hokage. The blonde motioned towards the fierce eagle standing on the window frame. ''I've received a message from team Kakashi. Naruto needs emergency medical attention and Sasuke is hurt too'' she explained. Shizune nodded, readying herself for the trip. ''I'm coming with you'' Shizune proposed. ''Of course you are. We have to leave **now**'' announced the Hokage. Shizune nodded and switched into her ninja gear. They left as quickly as they could.

''Hold on Naruto, I'm on my way'' Tsunade whispered.

Xxx

**That's it for now! I know it was a quick update but thanks to the amazing reviews I got, I wanted to update asap. Plus, I'm as much into that story as you are! Thanks a bunch for the fantastic reviews! They really make my day, you guys are awesome! Thanks for sticking with me in the process of writing this story! I don't know how much there is left. I guess it will depend on how people review! Also, I don't know, would you guys like a little info on the Japanese words or does everyone understand so far? I know I use some of the words in Japanese. I guess it makes it funnier for me to write. Just ask if you need anything! Other than that if you have any comment, feedback or suggestion to make, review button is right there! See the little purple-blue like button? It's that right button! lol thanks guys and stay tuned !**

**TBC**

**-THwriter**


	7. Waiting for the rescue

The sky started to dim with dark clouds. Wind blew hard as night started to settle. Fine droplets of cool water poured from the sky like blood pouring from an open wound. Tsunade couldn't help but think that the weather started to fit her very own mood. The message did not specify anything other than the fact that Naruto and Sasuke had been hurt. In addition to that, Naruto was in a critical state and needed urgent medical attention. The blonde shivered both from the cold she felt inside and the cold that settled outside. She ran as if her life depended on it, pushing more and more chakra into her feet. At some point Shizune even had a hard time keeping up with her. At this rate, they could make it to the land of rice patties in a few hours.

''Lady Tsunade, wait up! There is no need to lose our calm!'' Shizune begged. Tsunade shook her head. Images of Dan flowed into her mind. Dan was her lover back in the days. He dreamed of being Hokage, just like Naruto did. Only, Tsunade did not get to him in time when he was hurt and he died in her arms. Her brother did not even have that chance. She learned about his death after the attack happened. She was late in both cases and she would not let another death rest on her conscience because she was not fast enough to help. More than everything else, it was Naruto she wanted to save. The blonde sunshine had brought faith and hope into her life, when she had lost belief in humanity. If the boy died, their dream of a peaceful world would die too. She had seen too much hatred and pain to live through that again. It was now her turn to save the world and to save the kid that she believed one day would save the world in return.

''I just can't slow down, Shizune. The fate of the world depends on how things are going to turn out tonight'' she announced. The brunette was not sure she had really understood what her master said but she tried to quicken up a little, trusting her _sensei_. ''What do you think happened to the boys?'' Shizune risked. Tsunade clenched her fists into tight, indestructible fists. ''I have a bad feeling that Orochimaru is behind this! That bastard!'' she shouted, punching the trunk of a nearby tree. The pieces of wood flew all around it and Shizune put her arms up in protection. The blonde was boiling with anger. She pushed herself even harder. Shizune had a harder time keeping up. ''Master, we won't get there sooner if we push ourselves too hard. We will use too much energy and won't have enough to save Naruto'' Shizune tried. Tsunade stopped and Shizune almost tripped at the sudden movement. ''You're right!'' Tsunade admitted.

She bit her thumb and traced a line of blood on the ground. ''_Kuchiyose no jutsu_!'' she screamed. A giant white slug appeared. The summoned beast turned towards its master. ''Oi, Lady Tsunade'' she spoke. Tsunade frowned. ''Katsuyu, I need a ride. I have to get to the land of rice patties as quickly as possible!'' the blonde explained. The slug nodded and motioned for the two ladies to hop on her back. With this they would get there faster and Tsunade could concentrate her energy into helping her pupils.

Xxxx

''Naruto is bleeding?'' Sasuke asked suspicious. ''From where?'' he added. Other from the coughing of blood, Sasuke hadn't seen Naruto bleed. The doctor scratched his head. ''Well that's still something I have to figure out'' he replied. Sasuke frowned and Kakashi let out a sigh of despair. ''Look I know you're trying to help but can't you tell where the bleeding is coming from?'' Kakashi pondered. The doctor nodded. ''Of course I can. Only, I would have to process with another set of tests that could take some time'' he replied honestly. Now everyone shared the same desperate sigh. Sakura had been sitting back and biting her lips from her latest outburst. Still angered, she didn't want to speak up or engage in the conversation. Sasuke was getting utterly pissed with the regular doctor. He felt as though they were wasting precious time. Naruto didn't look like he was getting better either. ''So what, are we going to let him bleed to death? Do what you want, but do something!'' Sasuke snapped. Sakura wanted to stay out of it but Sasuke's reaction gave her a hard time keeping to it.

Kakashi looked so helpless. ''Sasuke, I know you're concerned, but keep your calm'' Kakashi pleaded. He was concerned too, but couldn't lose his face in front of his students. He sighed and turned to the doctor. ''Do what you have to do. It's the best we can afford for now'' he announced. The doctor nodded. ''Then help me wheel your friend to the next room'' the doctor asked Kakashi. The _jounin_ nodded and they wheeled the bed to the next room. The doctor motioned for Kakashi to join his students while he performed the tests. Kakashi nodded reluctantly and left Naruto with the doctor.

_Naruto had somewhat regained his cool, understanding that yelling at the fox wouldn't get him anywhere. The beast would just laugh at him coldly. After regaining some composure, Naruto walked closer to the giant gate in order to look at the demon more closely. The fox noticed the gesture and stopped laughing. His grin turned to evil. _

''_**And what do you think you are doing, **_**gaki**_**?''**__the fox growled. Naruto had his brows knit together and his fists clenched. He wasn't laughing anymore. He wanted answers. _

''_What the hell did you do? I'm your _Jinchuuriki_and this is __**my**__ body! You have NO RIGHT to do anything against me, understand? So whatever you're doing, just quit it__already!'' Naruto spat. He clenched his fists tighter when he saw the amused look in the demon's face. _

''_**Who are you to think a brat like you could tell me what I can and cannot do!'' **__the demon chuckled. Naruto got even angrier. ''You seem to be forgetting something demon _teme_, if I die you die __**too**__.'' Naruto raged. The demon shrugged. __**''Don't you think I know that? I'm not ignorant enough to have forgotten all about the details''**__ the beast bragged. Naruto was upset but couldn't help but feel that something was off. _

''_So what, you're going to keep me sick just enough that it doesn't kill me?'' Naruto asked. The demon grinned. __**''Something like that…''**__ the demon replied. Naruto was boiling with anger. He felt a sudden violent chill. His body temperature was so high, how could he even feel cold? It just didn't feel right._

The kid on the bed started to choke for air. More blood poured from his mouth. The doctor ran the imagery machine to his chest and discovered something with fright before deciding it would be best to help the child.

Xxxx

Sakura still turned her back to the others. She felt shameful for her outburst and couldn't stand the look of her teammates. Sasuke was so concentrated on Naruto's case that he forgot all about his own pain. Kakashi was pacing back and forth in the room, trying to get his nervousness to decrease. He finally heard the sound of wheels on the floor. He ran to the corridor and to the doctor's side. The man nodded to Kakashi's intention of helping him. They pushed the bed back into the former room where all the others waited. Sakura dared a peek in the blonde's direction only to be frightened with what she saw. Sasuke forgot the pain in his feet as he got up and walked closer. There was more blood on the sheets and Naruto now looked so small on his bed.

''What is going on?'' Sasuke asked. The doctor sighed. ''There were some complications while I ran the tests. Naruto's lung has collapsed. I can't tell you how it happened but that explains the coughing. I had to provide him with oxygen to help the lung recover'' the doctor explained. Sasuke looked at the tubes and the slow rise and fall of his friend's chest. At least he was still breathing. A shy shriek came from the back of the room. Kakashi and Sasuke turned to Sakura whom had finally decided to take part in the discussion. ''Is that Kabuto's doing? Don't forget that he did something when he grabbed Naruto…'' she reminded. Sasuke nodded and clenched his fists but Kakashi put his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder and looked at both teens with a solemn look. ''Now's not the time to find the culprit. We just want to take care of Naruto. When he gets better, we'll take care of Orochimaru'' he announced. The kids nodded. Sasuke unclenched his fists. He would have to agree with this without a word. This wasn't to his pleasure but for the sake of his friend, he was ready to go with it.

''But then does that mean that Naruto will be fine? Did you stop the bleeding?'' Sakura asked the doctor. The man looked at her. ''Surely this wound was bleeding, so yes I believe that we took care of it'' he replied. Sasuke frowned while looking at the digits on the machine that he believed he was getting to understand. ''Then why aren't his vitals going up?'' he asked. The doctor sighed. ''Well it takes some time for lungs to recover from this kind of wound'' he explained. Sasuke shrugged. ''Then won't you do something to help?'' he asked. The man looked at him intensely. ''Let's wait and see how it goes for now. The wound is not too severe so let's not make it worse'' he retorted. Sasuke kept staring at the man without flinching. The doctor would look down to avoid the kid's gaze, but whenever he looked back up, he realized that Sasuke didn't let go so easily.

Sakura got up from her chair and started walking towards the bed. ''But then if Kabuto created the bleeding, what was wrong with Naruto before that? He was sick way before going to Orochimaru!'' she pointed out. Kakashi nodded, showing her that he hadn't forgotten about that either. The doctor scratched the top of his head hesitantly. ''I still can't figure that out. I've taken imagery tests, but they looked fine when they didn't concern the lung part'' he admitted. ''Has he been conscious? Did he tell you anything?'' the doctor asked. The three looked at each other. ''Before everything started happening, he was complaining about headaches'' Sasuke remembered. ''And he fell asleep on battle'' he added. The three remembered the scene where Naruto had fallen asleep while Tomo and the others were attacked by rogue ninjas. The blonde had then apologized, blaming his zoning out on a headache. The doctor nodded to that new information and encouraged them to continue finding out more memories of things that could have happened before. Kakashi then explained the part in the woods. ''When we set up our camp to sleep, he didn't even complain and I could see he looked pale. That's when he passed out for the first time. He has been vomiting too…'' Kakashi explained. The doctor nodded again.

''So basically it has to do with his head. You're saying he has been complaining about headaches, then the drowsiness, comatose state and vomiting all have something to do with head trauma'' the doctor pointed out. Sakura looked at her teammates as if it didn't make sense. ''Come on, how could he have had a head trauma if he didn't even hurt his head once?'' she asked. Kakashi and Sasuke looked at each other. ''I'm not blaming any of you, I'm just saying that something must have happened. Don't you remember anything?'' the doctor pressed. Sakura shook her head. Sasuke looked at Sakura suspiciously. ''Sakura you hit Naruto on the head even before leaving'' Sasuke started. Sakura turned red and defensive. ''So what? I hit the _baka_ many times and he doesn't get in the hospital for that!'' Sakura shouted. Sasuke turned to Kakashi in search of some kind of support. ''Well, I understand where you're going Sasuke, but Sakura does hit Naruto quite a lot and it never did anything before now. I don't think such a blow could have hurt him this badly. Naruto is stronger than that…'' Kakashi tried to explain. Sasuke shrugged and looked at the blonde without anymore clue. He then looked out the window, only to see that the sky was black. Night had fallen and he hadn't realized that a storm had been forming. The rain ripped the sky. Sasuke felt as if the weather was showing out his inner feelings. He prayed for the Hokage to arrive soon.

Sakura also found herself looking out at the rain. Kakashi turned to her. ''So how did you send a message to the Hokage?'' he asked. Sakura looked at his sensei, her mind half-present as she spoke. ''An eagle is supposed to have carried my message over to Lady Tsunade'' she replied. Kakashi nodded. ''I just wish she could be there soon'' he said eyeing the doctor whom was now scrutinizing Naruto's pupils with a light. ''Me too'' Sakura confessed. The doctor cleared his throat before looking back up. His expression was serious, almost somber. ''What's wrong doctor?'' Kakashi asked. ''His pupils are dilated'' the man announced. ''Which means?'' Kakashi asked. ''That it's much more serious than you may think'' the doctor replied. Sakura looked horrified. ''How serious is it?'' Kakashi asked. Sasuke was concentrated on one machine in particular. ''Doctor, I think Naruto's blood pressure is still going down'' Sasuke pointed out. He had finally understood the meaning of the digits. ''I know and we've just found where the bleeding is coming from'' the doctor said. Sakura looked at him incredulously. Kakashi stared at him. The doctor nodded. ''Yes, it's exactly what you think, Kakashi'' he finally answered.

The ground started to shake. They all looked around in fear, dreading some kind of earthquake due to the storm. The trembling then stopped. It took about a minute and the door flung open. A panting blonde was gripping her sides to catch her breath. Behind her, a short brunette caught up with the blonde and gasped for breath as well. ''We came as fast as we could!'' they said. Hope lit the faces of team Kakashi's remaining members. ''We're so glad you made it, Lady Tsunade!''

_Naruto stirred. He was still inside the sewer that reeked even more now. He didn't remember anything other than the fact that he had started feeling bad and probably passed out. _

''_What's going on?'' he slurred, trying to get to his feet. __**''**__**You started shivering and then you passed out''**__ Kyuubi explained. Naruto scratched his head. ''And you didn't do anything?'' Naruto asked. Kyuubi shrugged. __**''As long as you're not dying, I don't feel concerned'' **__Kyuubi confessed. ''What if I were dying?'' Naruto proposed. The demon shook his head. __**''You're not. I'm taking care of everything''**__ Kyuubi promised. Naruto looked at his fingers suddenly. They felt numb. His legs felt numb too. He stumbled upon trying to keep his balance. His head felt incredibly light. ''Kyuubi…why do I…why do I feel so light all of a sudden?'' Naruto asked. The demon looked at him. __**''Stop your drama Naruto. You're just bleeding out a little. I can stop the flow whenever I want and you'll be fine''**__ Kyuubi ordered. Naruto shook his head and got dizzy doing so. ''I'm not acting…I don't feel it…t's all'' Naruto slurred. He suddenly felt like letting go. Kyuubi looked at the kid with a cruel smile. __**''You're so weak. Fine then I'll stop it. There! Happy?''**__ he asked. Naruto felt a slight change but he still felt awful. ''So you made my blood run like tap water?'' the blonde asked. The demon laughed. __**''Yeah, I thought this would serve your teammates right… maybe if you get sick for them, they'll stop treating you like shit!''**__ the fox explained. Naruto laughed nervously. ''Thanks for the tender care idiot, but how did you plan on replenishing all that loss of blood?'' Naruto spat. Kyuubi stopped laughing. _

_Naruto smiled sadly before collapsing. Kyuubi looked all around himself and felt as if his prison was growing more and more narrow. __**''Hey brat, wake up? What's going on?''**__ the fox growled. He got no answer. The room quickly lost its warmth and slowly light turned into darkness. __**''Naruto! Come on, quit messing around! Wake up!'' **__Kyuubi pleaded. Surely, nothing happened. _

Something was off. An enormous pressure fell upon the room which went incredibly quiet. All eyes turned to the blonde on the bed. The aura of death planned upon their heads. Regardless of the machines, Tsunade pushed everyone aside and rushed to Naruto's side. With critical eyes, she turned to the others and cried. ''He's crashing! Sakura and Sasuke you get out of here! Kakashi, you stay with me, Shizune and the doctor. Now everyone move or we're going to lose him!''

Xxxx

**That's it for now! Thanks again for the amazing reviews, you guys are so awesome! I hope you still like the story so far! I'm doing all I can to give you frequent updates. I also want to tell you that if you like my style, I've started two other Naruto stories that you could like. One's called the Invisible and here is the link: **.net/s/6168453/1/The_Invisible. **The other one is called Beautiful and here is the link: **.net/s/8065329/1/Beautiful. **Tell me what you think about those and if they're worth pursuing! Thanks a bunch and stay tuned for the rest of this story!**

**Take care!**

**-THwriter**


	8. Only hope

The room which had felt like death mere seconds ago now let out a feeling of urging panic. It's as if time had turned into a slow motion movie. The kids whom were just about relieved to see their Hokage, gasped in horror when said person rushed everyone out of the room. The present _jounin_ wouldn't let his emotions show because he was of a high rank of _shinobi_ after all. He had learned to keep his cool in the worse of situations. Kids weren't used to that yet. Besides, back in the days ninjas were cold and emotionless, unlike modern ninjas who allowed themselves to live their emotions. The other three-man teams were testimony to that. Even the current Hokage was a lady of emotion. That did not keep her from being an incredible _Kage_ after her four predecessors. Aside from a great leader, she was also a medical ninja like no other. The village of _Konoha_ even owned her a lot for her medical discoveries. After all, she was a scary but powerful woman when she put to it. Sasuke and Sakura felt that scary power at the moment and agreed to leave even if they were dying to know what would happen with Naruto. They accepted the fact that they would know after everybody but it was okay if it meant saving their friend.

Tsunade was already by the bed where Naruto lay, running her green-glowing palms all over him. She instantly spotted death in his chest and started healing his lungs from the damage Kabuto had caused them. Kakashi looked at her actions. He was mesmerized. Tsunade yelled at the doctor to go get a cloth soaked in cold water in order to get the kid's fever down. The man nodded and Shizune took place where he had been. Kakashi took a step back to keep from hindering the medics' doing. ''Kakashi, what happened to his lung?'' Tsunade asked. The male turned to her as he was hoping to know it from her. ''That is Kabuto's doing. He grabbed Naruto and…'' he started but Tsunade already knew the rest. ''He dug a hole in his lung, the bastard! What I don't get is why Naruto isn't healing with the help of Kyuubi's power'' Tsunade expressed. Kakashi shook his head. ''I know it doesn't make sense and I still don't get it either. It feels as though Kyuubi hasn't been doing anything from the very start'' Kakashi explained. Tsunade nodded. She shivered from her effort to heal Naruto. ''Shizune, help me heal this wound! It seems that his body his resisting my _jutsu_.'' Tsunade called. Her associate did not lose time and pushed some additional green chakra to Tsunade's _jutsu._ The blonde shook her head to inner discoveries. ''This kid hardly has enough blood to recover with the help of my techniques'' she noted. Kakashi looked confused. ''Can't you fix that?'' he asked. Tsunade shrugged. ''That's what I'm trying to do but it's as if I have to be filling up an empty tank'' she replied. She knit her brows and pushed even more chakra into her hands. ''Naruto don't you die on me!'' she yelled.

His heart was beating a shallow rhythm. Tsunade was sweating from the energy it took to heal him. ''He's hanging on but he's weak!'' she announced. Kakashi shivered at the thought of losing the kid. He never thought this would happen with the Kyuubi inside Naruto. The kid was slipping farther away from the land of the living. Tsunade started to boil with anger. ''You damn fox, do something!'' she yelled. Kakashi cleared his throat. ''Initially it's his brain that was bleeding…'' he started. Tsunade ran her hands up to Naruto's head and shivered in horror. ''Sakura…'' she mumbled. The Hokage pushed even more chakra into trying to save her protégé. Tears slid down her face. ''Something is off, it's not fully working'' she started. Shizune wouldn't let herself be beaten down. Kakashi looked puzzled. ''Come on Naruto…rise and shine'' he pleaded quietly.

_Naruto's eyes fluttered open. He felt warmth that he had not been feeling before. It felt like a person that he knew well. He was back in the sewers. The Kyuubi had quieted down. 'Is someone healing me?' he thought. He remembered suffocating and passing out and thought that this had been the end of him. Somehow he didn't seem to have regained all his power though. He still felt weak as if he was still slowly dying. ''Kyuubi, are you healing me?'' he asked. He heard a grunt from the back of the gate. __**''Your Hokage took that responsibility so I'll let her be the hero''**__ the monster grumbled. Naruto frowned. ''Aren't you helping?'' he wondered. The Kyuubi turned its giant head away from Naruto. __**''The seal on my chakra is powerful. If I try to break it myself, you'll die. There is only one person who can save you now…''**__ Kyuubi let out. Naruto listened carefully to the fox's explanation. For once, they weren't biting each other's head off. Naruto thought hard and wondered who it was that could save him now. _

xxxx

Sakura and Sasuke had found chairs to sit in. There were sitting in silence, deep in their thoughts. Sakura was silently crying, her whole body ravaged from the shivers and the coldness that the fear of not knowing brought her. Sasuke paid no attention to her. He was thinking about the events and making up scenarios in his head. He thought about what would happen if Naruto were to not make it through. The thought scared him. Everyone in the village would be devastated and he would end up having everyone trying to cheer him up after losing a friend. He would also have the responsibility of taking care of his team and that meant comforting Sakura. Those images were unbearable. He shook his head to send the images away. _Naruto you have to make it through, _he thought. The blonde was so loud, Sasuke couldn't bear to think of how quiet everything would be without the knucklehead. He broke out of his thoughts when Sakura let out a loud sob. She was curled up in a ball, crying her heart out. ''It's my fault isn't it?'' she asked without wanting anyone to answer her question. Sasuke tried to not react but he felt like it was true. ''Don't beat yourself up…'' he finally said. She turned to him. ''What if he doesn't…'' she started but Sasuke cut her off. ''He'll be fine. That's just like him anyway'' he replied. He didn't want to think about the worst case scenario. Sakura nodded but she couldn't shake the bad feeling away.

Xxxx

Tsunade was shaking from exhaustion. She had been pushing all her energy into Naruto, trying to save him. He had gotten slightly better but he was far from being out of harm's way. Shizune kept by her master's side, helping her as well as she could. ''It would've been easier in Konoha. There are books and there are others medics. We wouldn't have to solve this on our own'' Tsunade started. Kakashi shook his head from where he stood. He had been standing aside a little to give space to the specialists. ''Don't think like that, Tsunade. You're doing all that is in your power and you're the best medic we have'' Kakashi replied. A slight smile crossed the blonde's face before she got back to being serious. ''What is the Kyuubi doing?'' she whispered. Just as she thought that this would not be over, a familiar aura appeared. The pressure came back to the room but it felt harsher than before. It was the smell of death. She shivered. ''We can't lose…'' she murmured. Tears went down her face. ''Naruto don't give up!'' she snapped. Kakashi froze. The kid had gone limp.

_Naruto froze. The warmth was gone. He shivered. The light started to dim again. ''Kyuubi, we're dying again. You didn't think that would happen when you made your plan, did you?'' Naruto asked. He was serene for a dying man. The beast sighed. __**''The only person who can save you is dead, Naruto'' **__the monster growled. _

''_And how is that an issue'' said a warm voice. Naruto spun around. A figure stood in the shadows. The blonde shivered. He wasn't used to having someone else in this place. He had thought that he was in his head. How could someone else be there with him? He narrowed his eyes to try to see who the person was. The man was tall and wore a long coat. He was apparently a _shinobi _as well. ''Who's this?'' Naruto asked, too weak to get up from his spot. The man marched towards him and gave out a hand. Naruto reached for it and leaned on its strength to get up. He came face to face with blue eyes similar to his. The smile he received seemed somehow familiar. That face he knew so well didn't appear to him like something he had seen in books or records. There was a strange familiarity to it. ''Hokage…'' Naruto started. ''I'd prefer you call me _chichi*_''. Naruto was confused. ''What does that mean?'' Naruto stuttered. The blonde man offered him a smile that melted Naruto's heart. ''I'm your father, Naruto. I'm here to save you''_

*- Chichi = father in Japanese

Xxxx

**I really want to keep that up but I gotta leave some suspense, don't I? Thanks a bunch for the reviews, again. Your feedback keeps it coming. I like to know what you guys have to say! Thanks for the favorites as well! This story is my most favorited story. Thank you guys and don't be shy to drop by and leave a note. Stay tuned for more and thanks for sticking with me.**

**TBC **


	9. Family talk

_**Just as Tsunade thought that this would not be over, a familiar aura appeared. It was the smell of death. Tears went down her face. ''Naruto don't give up!'' she snapped. The kid had gone limp.**_

_Cold. The room was cold. Everyone stared in silence. The monitor's cry was steady and longing. Tsunade held her breath while tears fell uncontrollably. Kakashi was frozen on his spot, eyes wide open, waiting for something to happen. He waited for someone to wake him up from this nightmare but nothing came. Nothing happened. Rain fell from the sky and tears fell to the ground. _

_Tsunade woke up from the haze she dove into seconds ago. She was losing her battle, thus losing her friend. Naruto's heart had given up the will to fight, pressured by an onslaught of pain. ''Naruto!'' Tsunade's voice broke. Even Sakura's and Sasuke's head shot up from behind the door. The blonde was slipping away. _

_The Hokage regained her composure and pushed a maximum of energy into her hands. Sweat rolled down her forehead which started to wrinkle, her youthful jutsu wearing off. Shizune joined in. She ripped Naruto's clothes to reveal his chest. It was still and unmoving. Both doctors pressed their hands to it and sent charges of chakra to revive the teen. _

_Kakashi felt so weak that he couldn't move. He wanted to crawl on the floor and bawl but he couldn't. It had been so long since he had felt this way. Usually he separates himself from his feelings but this time, he didn't feel like he could get away from them. He crossed his fingers and prayed. _Please Naruto don't give up_. A peek at the bed confirmed that his prayers still had to be heard. _

_xxx_

_**''Hokage…'' Naruto started. ''I'd prefer you call me chichi'' the blonde said. Naruto was confused. ''What does that mean?'' he stuttered. The man offered him a smile that melted Naruto's heart. ''I'm your father, Naruto. I'm here to save you''**_

Naruto blinked a couple of times to wash the surprise away. There in front of him stood his greatest hero of all times. All of his life he had admired the man and wished he could be like him someday. He was part of Naruto's choice to fight until he became the greatest Hokage. Still, that very same man was the one who made him the way he was. He was the one to have sealed the demon fox within him some fourteen years ago. Naruto didn't know if he had to punch the man out of anger or if he should hug him. He took a few steps back.

''I don't understand'' Naruto stuttered. The man smiled.

''I'm your father Naruto'' he repeated. Naruto shook his head.

''No way! You are the fourth Hokage! The best out of all the Hokage!'' Naruto started. Minato shook his head, his blond locks falling in front of his eyes in the same pattern Naruto's would.

''Your mother and I didn't care about my title the day you were born. You were the only thing that mattered'' Minato replied, smiling. Naruto stopped fighting against the thought and considered the idea for a second. He checked the fourth Hokage from head to toes. He was a little taller than himself but their cerulean blue eyes were the same. They also had the same messy tuft of golden blond hair. Tears welled up in his eyes at the realization. Minato opened his arms to comfort Naruto but the latter charged with his last remaining strength and hit the Hokage in the guts before falling to the ground. He then brought his knees to his chest and cried.

Surprised, Minato sat next to him and waited in silence. Naruto didn't look up but tightened his grip around his legs. He shook himself quietly. The Hokage didn't push it. He finally rested his hand on Naruto's shoulder. The kid didn't push away which was a good start. Minato sighed.

''I'm sorry you feel this way, Naruto'' he apologized. Naruto shrugged and removed some tears with the back of his hand.

''I think I hate you now. If you were my dad, why did you seal the _Kyuubi_ inside of me? And why did you die? If you were my parents and loved me, why did you die instead of protecting me?'' Naruto cried. Minato looked at him sadly.

''It wasn't an easy decision…'' Minato started but Naruto cut him up, anger taking over.

''It's not difficult, it's stupid! How was I supposed to handle having a demon inside of me while no one would take care of me when I got scared! Everybody ran away from me! I was alone and scared too…but I didn't have anyone to comfort me…'' he explained. Minato felt his heart squeeze in his chest.

''That wasn't the plan, ok. You were supposed to be safe and nobody was supposed to die but it happened. I regret it now more than ever because I didn't get to see you grow up. Don't you know how much I hated to think that I would never see you join the Academy? As I gave up my life, I realized that I would not be there when you would need me. I could never see the man you'd become. That made me angry but I accepted it somehow'' Minato confessed. Naruto had gone quiet and stared at his father deeply. ''Why'' he asked simply.

Minato cleared his throat, ''because if your mother and I had not given our lives to protect you, you would have died with the rest of Konoha'' he explained. Naruto had a puzzled look on his face. ''Because of the fox?'' he asked. Minato shook his head.

''I could've handled sealing the fox alone'' he replied. Naruto waited for the rest of the story. Minato was apparently searching for the right words.

''The nine-tailed demon didn't appear in Konoha just like that'' he started. Naruto's eyes widened. ''What do you mean?'' he asked. Minato looked at him seriously.

''I have never really known who it was but that man is the reason why your mother and I died. He is also the one who summoned the _Kyuubi_'' he explained.

Naruto started to get worked up. ''Who is it? Is he dead?'' he started but Minato cut him off. ''Now is not the time to be worried about that. After all this time he might as well be gone. Naruto, the reason I am here is to fix the current situation. What happened?'' he asked. Deception was visible from Naruto who would have wanted to know more about the mysterious man. The change of subject reminded him of the reason why he was there, talking to his deceased father.

''It's the damn fox… He made me bleed to death'' Naruto grunted. The demon growled coldly but didn't insist, knowing it was the truth. Minato didn't understand. Naruto shrugged. ''It's everyone in the village… they don't like me. They all think I'm useless…'' Naruto added sadly. Minato shook his head. ''I'm sorry it had to come to this. How long have you known about the fox?'' he asked. Naruto shrugged. ''When I turned _genin_'' he said. Minato sighed.

''It wasn't supposed to be like this. The third Hokage was supposed to tell everyone about it so they could accept you as an ally of the village. Instead of that you've been perceived as an enemy…'' the Hokage said.

Naruto shrugged it off. ''It's not like it matters anymore…'' he started. Minato looked at him puzzled. ''What do you mean?'' he asked.

The blonde's eyes got serious and dull. ''I don't want to go back anyway. Now that I know about you I want to stay with you and mom'' he confessed. Minato looked at his son with deep features. ''You can come with us, Naruto'' he said.

Naruto looked at him confused. ''Can I, really?'' he inquired. Minato nodded. ''Sure. Not now though. One day your journey will be over and we will meet again. As for now, you still have a lot to live for. You can't stay here! What about your dream of surpassing me?'' he asked. Naruto's eyes gleamed.

''How do you know…'' he started but Minato started to laugh. ''It's not because I'm dead that I don't know anything about you! I'm always with you, son. I'm right here'' he said placing his hand on his son's heart. Naruto started to cry; only this time his tears were tears of joy. He wrapped his arms tightly around his father's shoulder and held him tight.

''I'm so happy to see you, dad! I love you'' Naruto cried. Minato smiled, tears coming up in his own eyes. He hugged the kid back.

''I love you too, my son. I am proud of you. Whatever you do, I believe in you!'' he whispered. Naruto swallowed. ''You do?'' he asked. Minato pulled him in tighter. ''I always will'' he promised.

Naruto cried a little more and then pulled back. ''I have to go back, don't I ?'' he asked. Minato nodded. ''Yes you do. Don't worry about the others! They always want to bring you down but then you realize they are happy to have you around. I know you will make an incredible Hokage!'' Minato chimed.

''I don't know'' Naruto doubted for a second. ''You will!'' Minato shot. ''You will even surpass me! I will tell you something. Do you know where the red swirls on Konoha's uniforms come from'' he asked. Naruto shook his head.

Minato smiled, ''this swirl used to be the symbol of the Uzumaki clan. This goes back to the time when the first Hokage founded Konoha. The Uzumaki clan was such an important one that they kept the swirl as a symbol from that time'' he explained. Naruto's face lit up. ''But you're not an Uzumaki?'' Naruto asked his father.

''No but your mother is!'' Minato replied. The kid's face shone even more.

''How was she?'' Naruto asked. His father blushed. ''Your mother, Kushina, was the most beautiful thing in this world. She was brilliant and powerful and she loved me for whom I was. You would love her, I'm sure!'' he said. Naruto smiled and a tear rolled down his cheeks.

''Will I get to see her?'' he asked. Minato smiled. ''Oh I'm sure she has something in mind for that!'' he replied. Naruto smiled and nodded his head. Minato got up and helped Naruto to his feet.

''Time to go kid, you wouldn't want to be late!'' Minato kidded. Naruto pouted. ''I'll miss you'' he confessed. Minato grabbed both his shoulders and stared right at him.

''I will always be there with you. I'm so proud of who you have become. Always keep faith in who you are and in the others. I'm sure they care about you more than they tell you!" he cheered. Naruto smiled. ''Ok, I'm ready" he said. Minato nodded and removed the seal on the gate doors. Naruto felt an infinity of power cross through his whole body. He felt himself coming back to life. Minato smiled at him.

''I'll keep it open long enough for you to recover from your wounds and then I will seal it again. Get ready'' he said. Naruto nodded and felt better than he had in a very long time. His strength came back and Minato closed the seal up. ''I have to go now'' he said. Naruto nodded. They hugged.

Minato went to disappear when an idea popped into his mind. ''Hey Naruto!'', the blonde looked at him one last time, ''would you salute Kakashi for me'' he asked with a wink. Naruto smiled. He nodded and with this, the blond Hokage was gone. Naruto turned to the _Kyuubi_.

''And you, stupid thing, if you pull a stunt like that again, I'll kill you myself!'' Naruto spat in anger. The fox snorted.

Xxx

Everyone was quiet in the room. Naruto was dead. Right there, in front of them, the kid had died. There was nothing Tsunade could do to help and Shizune was out of resources as well. Then a miracle happened. A strong chakra emanated from inside the cold corpse. The red energy covered the entire body, healing every single scratch and bruise it could hold. It stopped on its own and then nothing. Everyone remained silent. Naruto's heart started beating again. His chest rose and fell in a soft pattern. The breath they had all been holding finally came out. The threat over their heads was gone and the room was warm again.

Tsunade, confused, stood over the bed and watched the kid carefully. He was sleeping in peace. She breathed a sigh of relief. Kakashi whom had been curled up on the floor got up and watched closely. His student was alive. The terrified doctor was sitting at the other end of the room. Shizune sat down in exhaustion from helping her master by giving her that much of her chakra.

As soon as she started relaxing, some wrinkles appeared on Tsunade's face. Her chakra was exhausted from trying so hard to revive her protégé. There was a soft movement from the bed. Tsunade turned around to see blue orbs looking her down. Tears filled her eyes and she smiled. ''Hey there. Welcome back!'' she whispered through tears. Naruto smiled weakly ''baa-chan…'' he murmured. He then fell asleep from exhaustion. She grimaced at the nickname but she knew that in Naruto's language it meant 'I'm happy to see you'. She watched him one more time and realized something must have happened because Naruto fell asleep with the largest smile.

Xxx

**A/N: Hey there sorry for the wait! Thanks a million times for all of you who reviewed, favorited and even alerted this story ! I'm touched that you guys like it enough to do so and to keep up with me! Hopefully it won't be too long for the next update that will probably be the last one. I'm really sad that this story will be over because I enjoyed writing it! Thanks again and take care !**

**TBC**


	10. Epilogue

**AN : Hey there! It's been… too long I know and trust me I really am sorry about that. I have no excuses really. It's just part of who I am. I tend to like a show too much and focus on it until I find another show I like too much and focus on. I do want to get my stories finished someday and if you can accept my rhythm (and I'll be forever grateful if you still have faith in me) then you might find some comfort knowing that I'm finishing this story today! **

**Of all my stories, this one has gotten the most attention from you so thank you so so much for all the amazing reviews sent my way! I have read them all, I swear, and take it personally to your heart that if you ever left a review on this story, it has made my day and that I really appreciate the time you've offered to let me know your thoughts on the story. Thank you to all of those who favorited the story and even followed it as well! And for those who've been there from the start and that will follow me into the end of the story – Thank you for your great support! It's the reason why, even if I'm late all the time, I'm still here, writing for you guys :-)**

**This is the conclusion of my story and I hope you like it!**

**Take care of yourselves and I'll definitely miss this but hey, this story has to be concluded someday! And that someday is now… Enjoy !**

**Xxxxx**

_The sun was bright on a beautiful sunny day. The sky was almost cloudless and it reflected on his cerulean orbs. He looked down and realized he was sitting in the grass. The herbs and flowers brushed against his skin and he could smell their perfume kiss his cheeks tenderly. A soft breeze blew into the trees and made the leaves dance in a magnificent fashion. He could also hear the melody of the birds chiming from their refuge through the branches. _

_Naruto smiled at the peace he felt inside. He turned back to what he was doing and realized he was having a picnic with his parents. His dad was telling a joke he could hear from afar and he saw the man's eyes lit up with happiness as his mouth turned into a giggling grin. He also heard a soft feminine laugh. They were right in front of him but it was as though he heard them from the other side of a window._

_He could tell that he was probably dreaming but he still wanted to enjoy it all for a while longer. His father finally turned to him, his baby blues reminding Naruto of his own. The wind brushed his golden hair around his face and Naruto could only stare at the beauty of the scene. He was mesmerized by something that couldn't even be a memory because his parents died the day he was born._

_He turned his head to see his mom. She was blurry because he didn't have a clear idea of what she was supposed to look like. Her hair was long and shinning in the sunlight and he could imagine that whatever she looked like, she must have been stunningly beautiful. She smiled at him with so much love and he could almost hear her giggle. _

_Naruto knew it wasn't real but he just wanted to enjoy this moment a little while longer. For the first time he felt peaceful and loved and he didn't want to let it go. But when the sun went down, he knew he had to wake up and return to his real life_.

He felt the warm bed under him and the blankets covering him halfway to his chest. His jumpsuit had been replaced by a gown. He heard soft voices coming from around him but he wasn't aware of what they said. His eyes were still closed and he could still feel the remnants of fatigue that were starting to dissipate. His mouth felt dry and he tried to cough slightly.

The noise instantly brought motion around him and he felt eyes stare down on him even though he hadn't opened his own just yet. Softly, he stirred and let his lids open only to stop halfway through their exercise. A blinding light entered his vision and he was forced to blink away the painful stimulus. After a few seconds, his eyes adjusted and his vision went from blurry to clear.

That's when he saw Shizune and Kakashi leaning over the bed railing and waiting eagerly for him to react.

"Naruto, can you hear me?" Shizune started. The kid only nodded and smiled.

"Good" she congratulated with a warm smile. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

Naruto swallowed a couple of times. "I'm fine but I'm thirsty" he replied honestly. She nodded and handed him a glass of water. Naruto sat up in his bed and let the cool liquid roll down his sore throat. It did help and he felt a lot better. For the rest he wasn't in pain or anything. The _Kyuubi'_s chakra had healed him nicely and he was feeling energized and healthy. Shizune left the room and let the student alone with his teacher.

"Are we in Konoha?" Naruto asked after seeing the familiar hospital. Kakashi nodded.

"Yes. After the Hokage treated you, we left the Land of Rice Patties and came back here" Kakashi explained. Naruto was listening carefully.

"How long?" he asked. Sensing the meaning of the question Kakashi frowned with his only visible eye.

"It's been three days" he sighed. Naruto's eyes rounded in horror. "I've been asleep for three days?" he breathed in disbelief.

"Your body was exhausted so we let you rest" Kakashi confirmed. Naruto wanted to shout but he held it in and took on a sad look instead.

"It was the nine-tails" he started. Kakashi was giving him all of his attention now. "He made me bleed for kicks" Naruto confessed softly. He looked down at his hands, trying to avoid the _jounin_'s gaze.

"He _what_?" Kakashi asked with a puzzled look that resembled anger. The blonde sighed.

"When Sakura-Chan hit me, he just let me bleed. He thought it would be fun" Naruto explained, leaving out the part where the _Kyuubi_ actually did this to get revenge on his team for being so mean to him. "But he didn't laugh so much when he realized that I could've died and that if I had I would've taken him with me" Naruto added with a haunted look.

"About that? How did you manage to survive?" the silver-haired ninja asked. He was remembering too well how Naruto had died and suddenly been revived by the red chakra. Naruto had a funny look that Kakashi couldn't decipher.

Naruto was debating with himself. Should he tell his sensei what he saw or would the man call him crazy? When he saw the insistence in his teacher's eye, he finally decided to confess.

"It was the Fourth… my father" he blurted out. Kakashi's only eye rounded like golf ball. "He says hi, by the way" Naruto nodded, his lips turning into a smile when he saw the shocked look his teacher was giving him.

At that very moment, the door opened and his two teammates walked in. Sasuke's wounds had been taken care of and he could finally walk and use his arm again. Sakura was looking down, almost scared of looking up. They dragged their feet to the bed.

"Hey Naruto, you finally decided to wake your lazy ass up! 'Bout time you did" Sasuke grunted. Naruto shot him an annoyed look but somehow he felt that something was different in the way Sasuke insulted him. It felt shallow as though his friend didn't really mean it but he enjoyed annoying him anyway.

"I couldn't wait to kick your ass" Naruto replied but instead of an angry look, he just grinned. Sasuke felt confused but he didn't push it. Sakura was still looking down and avoiding looking at Naruto.

"Sakura" Naruto started. She shrieked and slowly turned to him. He could see that she'd been crying. She waited for him to yell at her but he didn't. Instead, he just gave her an honest smile. "I'm happy to see you. Thank you for coming" he added simply.

She broke down and ran into his arms. "Naruto, I'm soooo sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you! Okay you were annoying as always but if I had known… God I'm so sorry! I could've killed you…" she bawled and hugged him. The blonde was taken aback but he didn't push her away, showing her that he understood. Then softly he slid his hand towards her bottom and went to lay his hand on it.

"Naruto you Baka! You never change don't you!" she raged as she hit her teammate on the head. Naruto grabbed his head with his hands with a look of hurt.

Instantly Sakura melted in apologies and every member of Team 7 could just laugh at the scene. "It's okay Sakura. You don't change either, do you?" Naruto teased. Sakura went to raise her fist but she turned it into a gentle pat on the shoulder and she pulled her tongue out at Naruto. "I'm just glad you're okay, dummy" she laughed.

Naruto noticed that there was one person missing in the scene. "Hey where's Tsunade?" he asked.

"It's Lady Hokage and she's here" the blonde Hokage replied as she walked into the room. She had regained her young looks but she still looked tired. "I had to rest to restore my chakra but I'm okay now, thanks for asking" she explained.

"Thanks for making everything okay" Sakura said with glimmering eyes.

"I was just doing my job" Tsunade replied. That got Sakura into thinking. She was always the one getting hurt or watching her friends get hurt but she never got to make herself useful. _Maybe I could ask her to teach me how to be a medic ninja_ she thought. She then brushed the thought away from her mind.

Tsunade was looking Naruto from head to toe, only to make sure he was alright to go. "Well kid, you're healed" she announced with a smile.

"So that means we can leave on a mission?" he asked excited. The old lady started laughing.

"Come on, brat. Why don't you take it easy for the night? Ask your teacher to invite you to Ichiraku's" she proposed. Naruto was instantly bouncing of excitement and Kakashi shot a deathly glare at his Hokage for putting such a thought on the kid's mind. He thought of his hard gained savings and almost wanted to cry at the thought of spending it on Ramen.

Tsunade giggled and finally turned to Sasuke and Sakura. "I need to talk to Naruto now so why don't you kids take the night off as well. You deserve it" she said. Sasuke nodded and he was out of the room in seconds. Sakura looked back at the room one last time and left with her hearth feeling lighter than it had been in days.

The Hokage turned serious looks towards the two remaining occupants of the room. "What happened?" she asked seriously. Naruto gave her the details he'd given Kakashi and explained how the Fourth Hokage had undone the seal to allow him to heal before reforming it again.

"That's a strange story" she finally said. Naruto shrugged and Kakashi still looked puzzled.

"What about Orochimaru, what did he want?" she continued.

"He knew we'd want to rescue Naruto and tried to trap us so he could take Sasuke" Kakashi explained. Naruto hardly remembered his time in the snake's lair. "Apparently he wants to use Sasuke as his next vessel… it's how he manages to survive. This technique could make him immortal" Kakashi added with obvious worry in his voice.

"We'll watch Sasuke closely now that we have that information" Tsunade announced. "Especially since chances are that he is still alive and roaming somewhere, just waiting to take his revenge" she added. Kakashi nodded and assured the Hokage that he would watch the Uchiha closely.

Naruto zoned out for a second and his mind brought him back to his encounter with his father. He didn't know what it meant but somehow he felt like he needed to warn the Hokage.

"The Fourth said something when he came to me…" Naruto started. All eyes turned to him. "He said that the night _Kyuubi_ attacked the village… something happened. The nine-tails didn't appear here on his own" he continued. He was now receiving looks full of shock.

"What do you mean by that? Someone would have made the _Kyuubi_ appear in Konoha?" Tsunade asked. Naruto nodded. The Hokage and the _jounin_ exchanged looks. "Did he tell you who?" she investigated. Naruto shook his head this time. "He only said that the guy was powerful beyond what he'd seen before" Naruto replied.

Again, the adults exchanged looks. "Considering that it happened fourteen years ago, there's no reason to believe that it could happen anytime soon or we would have had signs already" Tsunade rationalized. Naruto shrugged. He was just relating information after all. The Hokage said she would look into it and told Naruto that he could leave after he'd had a decent meal.

Later that night, Kakashi had to keep his word and he invited his team on a round of Ramen. Naruto was back to his normal babbling self and the teacher sighed. Was it wrong of him to think that at least for a couple of days he hadn't needed to put up with the kid's nerve-wrecking babble? But deep down, it was part of the number one hyperactive ninja's personality and he did miss it when the kid was sick. _But that was really deep down_.

The atmosphere wasn't too awkward either, even considering everything that had happened between the three teammates. Naruto was being bubbly as always and Sakura quickly quit beating herself up. She would think back to it from time to time but instead, she focused on seeing the good in Naruto. It was still hard but she managed. She just remembered Tomo's words from a time around the fire and decided that maybe – just maybe – Naruto really wanted his friends to acknowledge him and she had to admit that the kid had been somewhat impressive lately. _I shouldn't be too hard on him, right?_ she kept telling herself – even when she felt like punching him.

And Sasuke remained the same. He was still cold and nonchalant. His goal was still to go after his brother. And of course, he still picked at Naruto all the time. But something slight changed. For someone who knew him well, it was obvious that Sasuke wasn't angry when he yelled at Naruto. Somehow, the Uchiha just wanted the blonde to be competition enough so he could have fun with him. And he would never admit that he'd been worried about Naruto. Even though he knew deep down that Naruto was very aware of it.

Something did change in Naruto too. He was more focused on his goals and worked harder to reach them. Only Kakashi would know what drove the kid. Deep down, he had a feeling that seeing his father lit a bright flame in the kid's heart. Or maybe it was a feeling for competition. Naruto wanted to prove that he could surpass his father, the greatest _shinobi_ of all times. And the teacher felt a smile tug at his lips because he'd be expecting nothing less from Naruto and he truly believed that he would live to see that happen one day.

Naruto gulped down a fifth bowl of Ramen and called for a sixth. Kakashi's smile was lost to his face and he thought back to his precious savings. _Great now I want to cry_ he thought.

And the night went on. Team 7 was just better now that it was whole again. All of them knew at that point that they could complain all they wanted; it wouldn't be the same if it were any different. And honestly, they were happy things were back to what they were.

Xxxxx

In a dark and humid cave, tall shadows gathered together. They were dressed in dark black robes that covered they bodies up to their noses. It was hard to tell in the dark but crimson red clouds were drawn across the black gowns.

"I have news from Konoha" one of them spoke. The others circled around him. "Kakashi Hatake and his team have been wounded during a battle against Orochimaru and his accomplice. The _jinchuuriki _almost died but he is fine now" the man continued.

"And what about the Uchiha" came another quiet voice.

"Your brother sustained shallow injuries but the old hag took care of it" the voice commented. Itachi Uchiha swallowed at the news but remained impassive.

"Do they suspect anything?" another voice came.

"I don't think so. And even if they start to protect the village against us, we won't be ready to attack before another couple of years" the man affirmed.

"We have to prepare ourselves" a masked man spoke. "We are not allowed any mistakes. When we are powerful enough, we will be able to take on all the _jinchuuriki_. And when we do have all of them, there won't be anything to stop us from putting our master plan into action" the man added. He giggled softly.

"Be patient, Uzumaki. When I'm ready, I'll come for you and destroy you just like I did with your father"

And with that the masked man laughed of shear excitement.

Not far from there, a snake regained consciousness. His body was bandaged up to his head. He staggered into a standing position and then looked at himself in the mirror. His yellow eyes were shining brightly against the contrast of the purple lines around his eyes. He heard a whistle come up from the bottom of his throat and smiled, jubilant. "You might have escaped this time, Sasuke, but you _will _come to me and you _will_ be my vessel one day" he hissed.

And as Team 7 walked out of the Ramen restaurant, Kakashi crying over his empty wallet and the three _genin_ laughing at good memories, little did they know what real danger awaited them in the darkness.

THE END

**This is it. Sadly this story is over now. I want to thank you guys again for giving my story a chance and thank you for your exceptional support!**

**I hope you liked it and don't hesitate to drop me a last review! I swear they make me incredibly happy!**

**Sayonara my friends!**

**LaueHime**


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